When Chi Meets Chakra: A Space-Time Adventure
by jido96
Summary: After confronting a mysterious man who had broken into his house, Shujinko Ozuma, a fourteen year-old Chunin, gets thrown into the Avatar universe by accident. There, he will meet Avatar Aang and join his group as they fight against the Fire Nation. But who is this mysterious man? And why does he knows about the Ozuma clan's past? Will Shujinko ever return to his home?
1. Chapter 1

**WHEN CHI MEETS CHAKRA: A SPACE-TIME ADVENTURE**

* * *

(Disclaimer: Avatar The Last Airbender belongs to Nickelodeon and Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. I only own my OC's)

(PLEASE READ: THIS IS NOT A SEQUEL TO "SHUJINKO: THE FOURTH MEMBER", BUT A DIFFERENT STORY WITH SHUJINKO AS THE MAIN CHARACTER. THIS STORY WILL NOT HAVE ANY EFFECT WHATSOEVER IN "SHUJINKO SHIPPUDEN". I REPEAT, THIS IS NOT A SEQUEL TO SHUJINKO'S ORIGINAL STORY)

Summary: One night, a stranger breaks into Shujinko's house and tries to steal one of the most mystical objects in the history of the Ozuma clan: The Eye of Kazemaru. When Shujinko tries to stop him, the two of them activate an ancient and forgotten power of the gem by accident, which sends them to another dimension where a certain bald-headed monk has to master the four elements in order to defeat the evil Fire Lord. What kind of impact will Shujinko's presence have in the Avatar universe? Who is this stranger and what does he want? Get ready for one wild space-time adventure.

* * *

**CHAPTER 1: A STRANGER IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT**

_The confrontation between the Avatar and the Fire Lord had devastating consequences for the Wulong Forest. What was once green and full of life was now little more than a rocky landscape with hundreds of columns and pillars. The smell of ash and burnt soil was abundant, and the light of the sun still shone brightly despite being late in the afternoon. _

_At long last, after an intense battle, Aang unlocked the Avatar State and managed to defeat Ozai by taking away his bending, an ability given to him by a wise and ancient Turtle Lion. With this ability, Aang remained true to his beliefs and ended the conflict without having to take away anyone's life, for not even someone as evil as the Fire Lord deserved to be killed according to Aang's pacifist views. In the end, Ozai's lust for power and domination ultimately led him to his doom. The Hundred Year War was finally over…_

… _However, there was one battle that had yet to be fought._

_Two figures were standing on a huge pillar, staring intensely at each other. One was a fourteen year old boy with brown hair and golden eyes. His clothes were off-putting and didn't seem to belong to any of the Four Nations. Then again, the boy did not belong to any of the Four Nations and neither did the cloaked man in front of him. The two of them were from another place, another world, and another dimension altogether._

"_I knew I was going to find you here once Aang's fight with the Fire Lord came to an end," Shujinko said._

"_A shinobi must wait for the correct moment to strike. We both know that, don't we?" the cloaked man replied. He was noticeably taller than Shujinko, and his voice had quite a bit of grit to it. He held a staff with three curved daggers attached to one end, which resembled the claws of a hawk's feet. "In any case, today is the day I will finally get rid of your pesky interference. I never imagined that, after all these years, a traitorous, ignorant boy would cause me so many problems. I won't allow you or your little friends to take away what is rightfully mine,"_

_Regardless of his blank face, Shujinko still felt a pinch of guilt and regret inside his stomach. Facing his past was not something he ever thought he would have to do, certainly not in this way. He felt pity for the man in front of him, but no amount of pity would change the fact that he had to do what he had to do. His resolve was unshakeable._

"_It's not like I care an awful lot, but you should realize that you brought all of this on your own," the cloaked man spoke again. "It's your fault that we have to fight. I offered you a chance to join my side and stand alongside me. Do you remember that day? You could've avoided this, but you chose not to. You have no one to blame for this but yourself," _

"_Even if I had wanted to join your side, you probably would've stabbed me in the back once you no longer had use of me. Besides…" Shujinko reached for his back pouch and took out his headband, which he then proceeded to adjust in his forehead. Once the headband's knot was tight enough, the golden-eyed boy brought his palms together and activated the Karura Tensei. "… I believe in what my sensei taught me. In the shinobi world, those who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than scum. Maybe I'm no longer in my world, but my comrades are still my comrades, and I would rather die than betray them,"_

"_Is that so? Well then, hopefully all of you can reunite in the Spirit World once I'm done. This is the Promised Land. I am merely fulfilling the prophecy that I chose for myself, the prophecy that needed to be fulfilled,"_

* * *

|Hidden Leaf Village|

Eight months. Eight months have passed since Shujinko and his friends failed to return to the village with Sasuke, who left everything behind in his quest for power and vengeance. Orochimaru failed to acquire the Uchiha's body on time and was now grooming Sasuke to become his next vessel, teaching the young avenger as much as he could before he was forced to perform the Transference Ritual again. The Snake Sannin was anxiously counting the days, licking his lips at the thought of obtaining Sasuke's Sharingan, the power that would help him achieve his life-long ambition of learning every single jutsu ever developed by mankind.

Naruto, who had promised to bring Sasuke back by any means, officially became Jiraiya's student and left the village for a three year-long training period. He was determined to grow stronger so that he could eventually bring Sasuke back to Konoha and become Hokage one day, and he knew that the best way to achieve both goals was to learn everything he could from Pervy Sage, who continued to investigate the Akatsuki while writing what was destined to be his greatest master piece so far: Make-Out Tactics.

Not wanting to be left behind, Sakura humbly requested Tsunade to teach her. The busty Hokage was impressed by Sakura's drive as well as her natural talent for chakra control and agreed to instruct the pink-haired girl in the ways of Medical Ninjutsu. Every day was a new challenge for Sakura, who was constantly being pushed to her physical and mental limits by both Tsunade and Shizune, but the satisfaction that came with improving made everything worth it.

As for Shujinko, he became Kakashi's sole pupil as well as a Chunin once the wounds he sustained from Sasuke's retrieval mission were fully healed. However, while he was given the rank of Chunin, Tsunade made it perfectly clear that part of the reason why she promoted him was due to the considerable losses that the village suffered at the hands of Orochimaru, who orchestrated an invasion with the Sound and Sand Villages that resulted in heavy casualties. The Hidden Leaf needed to increase its number of Chunins and Jounins that could take part in dangerous missions for the sake of the village's restoration, and Shujinko successfully went through all three stages of the Chunin Exam (albeit unconventionally given the interruption caused by Orochimaru's invasion during the third stage).

Since Kakashi vouched for his student, Tsunade decided to "invest" on Shujinko and promoted him to Chunin while also placing him under Kakashi's tutelage for the next three years. Given how the rest of his teammates were already learning from someone else, it was only fair and logical that Shujinko received the same treatment, and what better teacher for him than Kakashi, the Copy Cat Ninja.

Kakashi's training regimen was as efficient as it was brutal. The silver-haired Jounin began to teach his student each and every aspect that composed a shinobi fight, and Shujinko soon found out Kakashi was an actual slave driver in disguise. Since Shujinko was a Ninjutsu specialist with an affinity towards medium to close range combat, Kakashi trained him to become a lethal weapon in that regard, taking advantage of his student's prowess in Wind Style Ninjutsu and his Kekkei Genkai, the Karura Tensei.

Shujinko's physical appearance went through a rather noticeable transformation. With fourteen years of age, the brown-haired boy was already showing signs of growing up strong and healthy. His body was leaner than before, taller even. Kakashi made it very clear to him that being in top shape was fundamental for a good performance, especially since Shujinko preferred to engage his enemies in hand-to-hand combat before making use of Ninjutsu. Being constantly challenged by Rock Lee also helped him build speed and resilience towards physical attacks, even if the spandex-wearing Genin could be a tad bit obnoxious about their 'youthful rivalry' when he proposed things like a 500 push-ups competition.

However, for every lesson that Shujinko's body received, his mind received two. Kakashi taught Shujinko that being shrewd and perceptive was just as important as being a good fighter, if not more. Being able to notice hidden details and discern information according to what he knew and what he theorized about was by far one of the most important skills a ninja could have. This kind of mental training was as exhaustive as any other. While fairly smart within his own right, Shujinko didn't possess the intellectual aptitudes that other individuals such as Kakashi and Itachi were born with, and since you couldn't teach someone how to be a genius, the Ozuma was forced to broaden the scope of his cognitive faculties and work out predictions according to what his brain picked up before and during the heat of a battle.

Gaining experience was also part of his training. Shujinko may have become a fully-fledged Chunin with all of the rights and duties that came with the rank, but the truths of the matter was that he still needed more experience before he could participate in dangerous missions on his own or lead a squad of subordinates who depended on him. After all, the training grounds and battlefields were two different things. That was why Tsunade thought it was a good idea to have Shujinko join his sensei in some of the tasks that were assigned to Kakashi unless the Hokage deemed a certain mission to be far too dangerous for the up and coming Chunin. Her decision allowed Shujinko to put Kakashi's lessons into practice while at the same time learning from the battle-hardened Jounin just by looking at him and listening to what he had to say.

As a result, Shujinko was now steadily becoming one of the most promising prospects of his generation. He was stronger than before, faster than before, smarter than before, and an all-around better shinobi than before. Things were looking bright for him.

If only he knew how crazy his life was about to get.

* * *

|Hokage's Office|

"… And that's about what happened, Lady Tsunade," Kakashi said as he informed the leader of the village about his latest mission with Shujinko. Sensei and student were sent to the Kisaragi Village to investigate a series of kidnappings that had been going on for weeks. Turns out there was a gang of criminals abducting women and children demanding huge sums of money for their return, and since the Kisaragi Village was a pacifistic community with no military power or even a proper security system, they asked the Hidden Leaf Village to send a couple of their ninjas over to help them deal with the kidnappings.

In this mission, Kakashi tried to intervene only when it was necessary, allowing Shujinko to think on his own and come up with his own conclusions and decisions for the sake of his growth as a shinobi. While the Hatake obviously deduced pretty much everything way faster and accurate than Shujinko did, the golden-eyed boy did an overall good job tracking the abductors down and rescuing the people who had been taken away. It wasn't about teaching a lesson to some low-life criminals, but rather about how he dealt with the situation itself.

"So the kidnapped people returned to their homes safe and sound. That's exactly what I wanted to hear," Tsunade replied, her hands clenched together. As always, her desk had several stacks of papers on top, mostly reports of other missions and what not. "What about Shujinko? How did he perform?"

"Shujinko did well. He's getting the hang of coming up with long-term strategies on his own and didn't ask for my input. He should be able to handle missions like these without my assistance sooner rather than later. We didn't have to face any enemy shinobi, so in this case, I have nothing to comment regarding his fighting skills. I told him I would be the one to deliver the report to you. The boy deserves the weekend off after all the work he's done,"

Tsunade nodded. "I agree with you, Kakashi. These past two weeks have been hectic for everyone. Missions request have been popping up like crazy, and we've had to accept every single one of them. Hopefully, we can all breathe easier now that we don't have our hands full with requests from other villages. Now, unless there's nothing else to discuss, you may take your leave and rest for a while,"

"Actually, there's one last thing I would like to know," the Hatake said as his only visible eye narrowed slightly. "While we were away, Pakkun gave me a message from the Leaf containing information about the delicate status of the Sensing Barrier and the team responsible for its maintenance. I can understand the vagueness of the message due to what would've happened had it fell on the wrong hands, but now that I'm here, I wouldn't mind hearing a more detailed explanation if it's not too much to ask,"

The busty Hokage let out a tired sigh. The Sensing Barrier was a barrier invisible to the naked eye that surrounded all of the Hidden Leaf Village. Its purpose was to alert all security breaches that came from the exterior by recognizing foreign chakra signatures that did not belong to any Leaf shinobi. The Sensing Barrier team consisted mostly of members of the Yamanaka clan, as well as a few other ninjas with knowledge in the chakra sensory department.

However, during the last few days, there had been several reports of food poisoning that were affecting civilians and ninjas alike, and some of the affected happened to be most of the members of the Sensing Barrier team. The Yamanaka clan issued a statement in which they indicated how many of their members were currently ill most likely because of the food poisoning crisis. No one was going to die nor would the illness last for long, but while the members of the Yamanaka clan were out of commission, the Sensing Barrier team would have to work with replacements that were nowhere near as efficient as the standard team, which meant that the Hidden Leaf Village was considerably more exposed to outer attacks and invasions.

After hearing what the Hokage had to say, Kakashi placed his fingers on his chin. "I assume this is the main reason why you wanted us to finish our assignment and return to the village as soon as possible. You want us to stay here for the time being in case of an unexpected attack,"

"That's correct. I doubt very strongly that our enemies have acquired this information, so the probabilities of being forced to fend off against other villages are less than low, but I won't take any risks when it comes to the safety of our home. I have several food inspectors looking into this, and the owners of the markets are being questioned right now as we speak. Nothing too serious, just basic information gathering. I won't bother to call Ibiki unless the situation asks for a tougher hand,"

…

|Ozuma residence, 20:00 P.M.|

"I'm home," Shujinko called out as he entered his house and took off his boots, leaving them near the door. He was pretty worn out after his mission. Even if the biggest threat he faced in the Kisaragi Village was a bunch of armed thugs and ruffians who stood no chance against him and Kakashi, the collective amount of tasks he had to deal with during the month had left his body sore and his mind almost exhausted.

"Big brother, you're home!" Nanami shouted as she tackled her sibling. Shujinko affectionately ruffled Nanami's hair with a tired smile, returning the embrace with his free arm. "How was your mission? It took you ages to come back!"

"Nothing out of the ordinary, just a short trip to the Kisaragi Village. And don't be so exaggerated, I only left for a couple of days,"

Nanami pouted as she ended the hug. "Well, it felt like ages to me. You're so lucky, big brother. I can't wait to become a Genin go outside the village. All Iruka-sensei allows us to do is explore the forest nearby, and there's nothing fun to do there, just trees and bushes everywhere,"

"By the way, where are Mom and Dad?" Shujinko asked, dropping his backpack on the floor. "They're usually here for dinner at this time of the day. Did they go out or something?"

The younger Ozuma tilted her head to the side, giving Shujinko a curious look. "Don't you remember? They said they were going to leave the village for the weekend. They're celebrating their wedding anniversary together, but I don't know what an anniversary is and I forgot to ask them. What's an anniversary, big brother?"

"Oh, that's right. They did mention something about their anniversary last time I was here," Shujinko said to himself.

His parents Daichi and Masumi had reached fifteen years of marriage together and, instead of staying home and cook delicious dinner for the family like they always did, this time they decided to step things up a notch and go on a short but romantic holiday just the two of them. The golden-eyed boy was pretty sure this was his mother's idea, as Daichi was usually a serious and stern man who, despite loving his family dearly, wasn't used to openly display shows of affection, at least not in the way most fathers and husbands did.

"Well then, I suppose it's going to be just the two of us this weekend, huh Nanami?"

"Nope nope," Nanami answered, to which Shujinko raised an eyebrow. "Moegi invited me over to her house this morning. We're going to have a sleepover for the entire weekend! How cool is that?"

"Really? And both Mom and Dad gave you permission before they left?" Shujinko asked, receiving a nod from Nanami. "Huh, then I suppose it's alright. A sleepover does seem like fun," While Shujinko was simply too old and busy for sleepovers, he remembered he used to enjoy going to them when he was a kid. He especially enjoyed going to Choji's house since not only was Shikamaru also invited most of the time, but also the food they served there was just out of this world. "Anyways, since it's almost time for dinner, I'm guessing Moegi will be here to pick you up anytime now. Do you have your bag ready?"

…

"Huuuuuh… Maybe?"

Shujinko sighed. "Of course you don't. Come on, hurry up before Moegi gets here. I'll give you a hand,"

* * *

|Somewhere far, far away from the shinobi world|

"Boy am I glad that we found Appa. We're finally out of that stinking swamp," Sokka said as he and his sister made themselves comfortable on Appa's saddle while Aang sat on top of the Flying Bison's head. "Can you imagine spending the rest of our lives in that place, talking to magical trees and hunting Frog Squirrels for dinner?"

"Never mind the Frog Squirrels for dinner. I was afraid we were going to be stuck with those crazy visions all the time. They were so real and vivid, it was as if they were alive," Katara replied, remembering how her mother Kya appeared in front of her against all logic and common sense. It wasn't until both Sokka and Aang admitted to seeing similar visions that they realized something was extremely off. Huu, a waterbender from the tribe, explained to them that those who entered the swamp often saw visions of the past, especially loved ones that they had lost at some point in their lives.

Aang's case was the opposite. He didn't saw someone from his past since he couldn't recognize the giggling girl or her Flying Boar pet, so the only explanation left was that Aang was going to meet her one day, meaning that it was a vision from the future. However, since this was a vision from the future, Aang couldn't tell for sure what was that girl's role in his life, both as a human and as the Avatar.

"I don't know what to make of my vision," Aang said. "The weirdest thing of all wasn't the girl or the Flying Boar, it was…"

"What was it, Aang?" Katara asked.

The airbender looked over his shoulder, still holding Appa's reins. "I didn't mention this before because I wasn't so sure myself what it was, but looking back at what happened, I think I know now. When the girl and her pet disappeared out of sight, loads and loads of leaves began to fall from the sky. I've never seen anything like it before, and I have no idea what it means,"

Sokka clicked his tongue. "Leaves? Come on, Aang. We were in a swamp. You know, surrounded by thousands of trees, each of them with leaves, leaves and more leaves. What makes you say that leaves falling from the sky were also part of your vision? Last time I checked, leaves in a forest are as common as water in a lake and rocks in a mountain,"

"But these weren't ordinary leaves, Sokka. These were made out of metal,"

"Made out of metal, you say?" Sokka repeated, sharing an incredulous look with his sister.

They knew the swamp was a spiritual place where they saw visions of their past, or in Aang's case, the future. Therefore, the possibility of Aang seeing a vision of metallic leaves falling from the sky wasn't preposterous all things considered. However, it did go against the consistency of the visions themselves. Katara saw her mother Kya, Sokka saw Princess Yue, and Aang saw a young girl wearing a fine dress who giggled all of the time. In all three instances, they experienced visions of people, not inorganic objects.

"I know it sounds crazy, but I think those leaves meant something," Aang said, a concerned look adorning his face. As the Avatar, Aang had already accepted the fact that weird stuff was going to happen to him, for better or worse. His vision in the swamp was another thing to add to the list of supernatural occurrences that he had experienced so far. If that strange girl was supposed to be part of his future, then it stood to reason that the metallic leaves were also involved in his future, one way or another. "What do you guys think?"

"Under normal circumstances, I'd say you've gone bananas, Aang," the oldest of the group said as he began to sharpen his boomerang with a whetstone. "However, considering what happened to us in that swamp, I'm not so sure what to think. Maybe those leaves have a spiritual meaning or some mumbo jumbo like that. That's usually the case, right?"

"Even if that happens to be the case, there's not a whole lot we can do about it as of now. We can only wait and see whether if what you saw in the swamp had any meaning or not," Katara concluded.

Aang took a deep breath and tried to relax. Katara's words made him remember what the monks used to say: Sometimes, the only way to understand the future was to experience the present. The meaning of things often revealed themselves to someone if that someone was willing to wait, and patience was a virtue that belonged to monks, after all. "You're right, Katara. We should focus on finding an Earthbending teacher for now. Speaking of which, what place should we go first?"

Sokka left his boomerang aside and took the map out of his backpack, rubbing his chin as he inspected the last place they had visited before getting lost in the swamp and tracing an invisible line with his finger until coming to a conclusion. "Gaoling seems like our best bet. It's a fairly big city, which means its population has to be proportional to its size. There has to be at least one Earthbending teacher there. However, it's not going to be a short trip. I'd say about two weeks and a half if we start today. If we want to go to Gaoling, we're gonna have to make some stops along the way,"

The waterbender of the group opened a bag and dropped its content, only to find little more than crumbs. "We barely have any food left, so we might as well visit a few villages and stock up on supplies before we reach Gaoling,"

Upon hearing the word 'food', Aang's stomach growled, and the poor monk placed a hand on his empty belly. He hadn't gotten a bite for many hours now. There had been practically nothing in the swamp for him to eat, whether because of the dietary restrictions that came with being a monk or because of the simple fact that the things that he could eat, like the vegetable soup that the Foggy Swamp Tribe cooked for them, tasted disgusting.

"That sounds like a great idea. Sokka, what's the closest town we can visit?"

"Gi Yuin Village. It's a small place, but I'm sure we can find a market somewhere. Do you think they serve crab puffs over there? I've been dying to try some. They sound so meaty and puffy,"

"Only one way to find out. Gi Yuin Village, here we come!"

* * *

|Hidden Leaf Village, middle of the night|

Shujinko woke up from his slumber, eyes widened in surprise. Someone was inside his house.

His training under Kakashi had taught him how to detect enemies nearby, a necessary skill to survive in stealth missions and avoid surprise attacks. After all, part of a ninja's essence was to act silently and from the shadows, using the darkness as an ally. However, the situation was so unexpected that he had trouble figuring out what was happening. The possibility of a regular burglar trying to get his hands on things of value was pretty much nonexistent because even the most dimwitted of criminals wouldn't dare try to steal something from a shinobi village. It was the equivalent of a lamb entering a cave filled with wolves.

It couldn't be either of his parents. Daichi and Masumi not only were enjoying their anniversary away from the village, but Shujinko would've heard and recognized their loud footsteps. They were civilians, not ninjas trained in the art of stealth. Could it be Nanami? It made more sense, but it was still unlikely. She was supposed to be in Moegi's house, and even if she had come back for whatever reason, Nanami couldn't have opened the door, as she didn't have her own set of keys. Besides, knowing his sister, she would've let her presence be known first, either by throwing pebbles at his window or knocking on the door.

Very slowly, he brought his palms together and activated the Karura Tensei, his Kekkei Genkai which allowed him to enter Hawk Sage Mode instantly. This way, he was able to detect chakra signatures within a limited radius. The sensory abilities of a Sage were proportional to the Sage's own chakra reserves, and since Shujinko didn't possess enormous amounts of chakra, he couldn't sense chakra signatures from too far away. It didn't matter in this case because he was focusing on the area inside his small house.

Shujinko nearly flinched when he sensed an unknown chakra signature inside his home. It undoubtedly belonged to a shinobi.

His first thought was that the village was under attack by a group of ninjas from another village. He stared at the window to see if he could spot conflict outside, but nothing seemed to be out of place. There were no signs of conflict as far as he could tell. Was he the only one who was aware of what was going on? 'This is bad. I have to warn the rest of the village, but not before I confront whoever is in my house. Otherwise, I won't know what we're going up against,'

With his heart beating twice as fast as normal, Shujinko grabbed his equipment and went to see who was downstairs.

* * *

Inside of Daichi's office, an individual was standing there, wearing a black cloak as dark as the night itself. His hood covered his head while a black bandana covered the lower half of his face, leaving only his shining eyes exposed. His appearance made him look more like a living shadow rather than a human being. The only thing that made his presence stand out amongst so much darkness, apart from his eyes, was the huge jewel strapped to his belt.

'After so many years, I've finally found it. My search is now complete,' the intruder thought, gazing intensely at the other jewel that was inside the room. It was the Eye of Kazemaru, the gem he had been looking for, his life-long ambition.

He walked over to the chest said gem was embedded into and abruptly extracted it with his bare hands, making a cracking noise that resonated inside the room. As he stared at the golden jewel, he couldn't help but chuckle, his lips trembling with mirth. Years of patience and planning had finally bore fruit. 'Now that I have this, I'm finally ready to conquer the Promised Land and fulfill the prophecy my forefathers were too afraid to chase after,'

THUCK

A kunai thrown from behind got stuck into the wall the thief was facing. Almost unfazed by this, the cloaked man turned around to see a young man glaring at him, with yellow pigmentation around his eyes and two linear marks that went from the bridge of his nose to just below his ears. He wore grey pants, a black shirt beneath a green flak jacket, two black arm braces and a headband with the symbol of the village carved into it. The trespasser's eyebrows rose slightly.

"Stop right there. If you make one move, I won't hesitate to kill you," Shujinko threatened him. "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

…

"… Remarkable… Truly remarkable… To think that the blood of the Ozuma clan flows through your veins. I thought they had all been wiped out from the face of the earth. I wasn't expecting this at all,"

Shujinko's eyes widened like dinner plates. The man's words sent a chill down his spine and nearly made him lose his composure. How the hell did he know about the Ozuma clan? How could he recognize him?

"Tell me something, child. Who are your parents? Where do they hail from?"

"I'm the one asking the questions around here," Shujinko replied, trying his best to hide his astonishment by putting up a strong front. "Who are you? What do you want to do with that?" he asked as he pointed a finger at the Eye of Kazemaru, which was still being held by the stranger. The Chunin's eyes landed on the jewel that was strapped to his belt, and he found them to be quite similar, almost identical.

"There's no need for you to know my name. We were never supposed to meet each other. As for this…" he greedily stared at the Eye of Kazemaru in his hand. "This is the amulet that will allow me to achieve my destiny, the missing piece of my puzzle. You don't know the power behind these gems or their true purpose. You're just a child who carries the name and the burden of a clan who lost its way. I daresay your very own existence is a mistake that should be erased, but since I no longer hold any interest in this world, I won't bother to kill you. This world will take care of that without the need for my intervention,"

'What is this guy talking about? The Eye of Kazemaru acts as a padlock that protects the archives of the Ozuma clan that my father managed to save. Other than that, it doesn't have any special powers. But that's beside the point. How does he even know about its existence in the first place?' Shujinko thought before slightly shaking his head. This guy was a threat and he knew too much about the Ozuma clan. Shujinko had to restrain him and alarm the guards before they could interrogate him. He pulled out a kunai and adopted a fighting stance, much to the intruder's amusement.

"I already said that I won't bother to kill you, but if you attack me, I can't make any promises," he warned.

"I'm going to teach you not to break into other people's houses, you bastard!" Shujinko threw himself at him with the intention to kill the intruder. Someone who was capable of sneaking past the guards and entering the village without anyone noticing had to be skilled, so underestimating him would be a huge mistake.

When Shujinko had gotten close enough, the masked man took a small step back and grabbed the Chunin by the throat, stopping his attack before it could reach him. Shujinko let out a yelp as his neck started to get squeezed, dropping his kunai.

"Attacking your enemy head-on. You're certainly one bold shinobi for your age, so much that it makes me wonder how have you survived in this cursed world of ours for so long. Oh well, it hardly matters now, doesn't it? It's only natural that those who seek an early grave find it sooner rather than later,"

"… You think so?" Shujinko whispered in a raspy tone of voice as the stranger held him tightly. "… I wouldn't be… so sure… about that… Idiot…"

While still getting choked, the Chunin grabbed his enemy's wrist and forearm with both hands and placed his feet on his shoulder to restrain his movements.

POOF

The kunai Shujinko had dropped transformed into Shujinko, who came directly at the cloaked man while his doppelganger grappled him. 'It can't be! This boy was a shadow clone from the beginning!' he raged inside his mind. Since he was using his left hand to grab the Eye of Kazemaru, he made a split-second decision and attempted to punch the real Shujinko, using the heavy jewel as a blunt weapon.

Much to his surprise, the Ozuma evaded the strike by ducking down and imitated his shadow clone, using both his hands to grab the Eye of Kazemaru with all of his strength. "You're not going anywhere!"

"Unhand me, you insolent brat! You cannot stop me from fulfilling my destiny!"

POOF

The intruder managed to look over his shoulder. The other kunai, the one that was stuck to the wall, had also transformed into Shujinko, and that was when he understood everything. The two boys that were holding him were shadow clones while the original had been waiting for them to grab him before he could attack. With both his arms restrained, he was unable to weave hand signs or escape. 'I underestimated him. This was a trap from the very start! I have no choice but to…'

"Kazekiri!" Shujinko shouted, performing his trademark jutsu and running straight towards him, his Kekkei Genkai activated. The sound of air getting constantly slashed by invisible swords filled the place. After many months of training, Shujinko had finally managed to learn how to perform the Kazekiri without inflicting wounds on his own forearm thanks to Kakashi's training, although he still needed to activate the Karura Tensei in order to boost his wind chakra to the level that the technique required.

…

But then, something happened. Just when Shujinko's technique was about to reach the cloaked man, the two jewels began to glow, releasing a blinding light that vanished all the darkness in the room. Time began to slow down until it became frozen. At first, Shujinko feared he had fallen victim of a Genjutsu, but it didn't quite felt like it. Besides, his enemy couldn't weave any hand signs. How was this possible? The Ozuma further extended his arm, but his body was no longer responding.

Before Shujinko could open his mouth, his body began to feel lighter and lighter, to the point where he became as heavy as a feather. It all happened in a matter of seconds. The blinding flash of light faded away as fast as it came… and Shujinko faded away with it.

* * *

Aaaaaaand that was chapter 1. Hope you all liked it.

Welcome to this new story I've been working on. After finally writing "Shujinko: The Fourth Member", I can now move on to this project. Be warned, I WILL write this story assuming that you, the reader, have already read my previously mentioned story. You don't have to read it if you're not interested, but don't be surprised if you don't fully understand what's going on in "When Chi Meets Chakra: A Space-Time Adventure". Unless I absolutely have to, I won't bother myself explaining every single thing about Shujinko when he already has a story.

So yeah, what are your first thoughts about this? I will make the following chapters longer as I like my chapters to be around 8000 – 9000 words long. This is little more than an introduction. The next chapter will be about Shujinko arriving to the Avatar world, so make sure to stay tuned. Hopefully, this gave you a taste of my writing style.

Don't forget to Review, Favorite & Follow

Peace!


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2: WHERE AM I?**

(Disclaimer: Avatar The Last Airbender belongs to Nickelodeon and Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. I only own my OC's)

(PLEASE READ: THIS IS NOT A SEQUEL TO "SHUJINKO: THE FOURTH MEMBER", BUT A DIFFERENT STORY WITH SHUJINKO AS THE MAIN CHARACTER. THIS STORY WILL NOT HAVE ANY EFFECT WHATSOEVER IN "SHUJINKO SHIPPUDEN". I REPEAT THIS IS NOT A SEQUEL TO SHUJINKO'S ORIGINAL STORY)

Summary: One night, a stranger breaks into Shujinko's house and tries to steal one of the most mystical objects in the history of the Ozuma clan: The Eye of Kazemaru. When Shujinko tries to stop him, the two of them activate an ancient and forgotten power of the gem by accident, which sends them to another dimension where a certain bald-headed monk has to master the four elements in order to defeat the evil Fire Lord. What kind of impact will Shujinko's presence have in the Avatar universe? Who is this stranger and what does he wants? Get ready for one wild space-time adventure

* * *

Shujinko's brow furrowed as the sunlight reached his face.

'Is it morning already?' he wondered, his eyes still shut. He felt well rested, but there was still this weird sensation that was nagging him, as if he was just regaining consciousness after a month-long nap. 'I guess I should get up and get some breakfast. Man, I really overslept this time. I don't even remember going to bed. Oh well, all good things must come to an end,' Shujinko started blinking to adjust his blurry eyesight. 'I wonder if there's anything good left in the fri…'

Once his eyesight was clear, Shujinko realized he wasn't in his bedroom… or in his house, for that matter. Taking in his surroundings, he found himself lying on grass, surrounded by pine trees at the outskirts of a forest. He rubbed his eyes and lightly slapped his cheek to see whether if he was dreaming or not, but much to his befuddlement, he was still in the same place.

As a precautionary measure, he performed the Snake and Tiger hand signs in an attempt to dispel whatever illusionary technique he was trapped inside, but nothing changed. The smell of wood and wet grass was there, the trees were made of solid matter, and the sound of birds chirping was heard loud and clear. This could only mean one of two things: Either he was trapped inside a really high-caliber Genjutsu or he had lost his memory and couldn't remember how the hell did he get here.

'What happened to me?' Shujinko asked himself. 'I can't remember anything about last night. I know I went to bed after having dinner and saying goodbye to Nanami, but then, something woke me up… What was it?'

His backpack was lying right next to him, which completely erased the possibility of someone capturing him and taking him to a forest. Not only was his body completely free of binding ropes, but also not even an Academy student would be as stupid as to forget to take away a captured ninja's belongings. His backpack and the items stored inside were intact. There was a sealing scroll that contained a few weapons, some ration bars, a blank scroll, a first-aid kit, an empty water bottle, and a few personal possessions that he usually carried with him.

When he lifted his backpack from the ground, he saw the Eye of Kazemaru hiding beneath it. The golden jewel reflected the sunlight, and for a brief moment, the brown-haired boy experienced a headache. He closed his eyes and grunted as an incoming memory struck him. His mind saw darkness, then light, the darkness again. It made no sense whatsoever and didn't help him figure out how he ended up where he was, but for some reason, he knew that the flashback was accurate and that it had everything to do with his current situation.

"This is ridiculous," Shujinko declared as he placed the Eye of Kazemaru inside his backpack. He stood up, dusted himself off, and started walking his way out of the forest.

Unfortunately, he couldn't climb up pine trees or jump from one of them to another, so walking was his only means of transportation. It didn't really matter since he soon got out of the forest anyway. He saw fields and fields of long grass and dirt roads here and there, and his eyes caught sight of several houses and small wooden buildings not too far away from where he was. 'A town, that's good. I can ask people where am I and how do I get to the Hidden Leaf Village from here,'

* * *

|Gi Yuin Village|

"Aaah, that's just what I needed," Aang sighed in pleasure as he rubbed his stomach. Him, Sokka, and Katara were walking out of a small tavern after trying out some of the dishes that the place had to offer. Much to Aang's delight, the menu included egg custard tart, his favorite food. Sokka and Katara were just happy to eat normal food after their culinary experiences in the swamp, which mainly consisted of grotesque insects and what not. "I'm glad we stopped by here. This place has amazing food,"

"I'm not sure. Don't you think it was a little too expensive?" Sokka asked. "We still had enough money after buying the supplies we needed, but now we're almost out of coin and I'm not entirely satisfied with the food we ordered. Those crab puffs barely had any meat in them. What a rip-off!"

"This is the only place where Aang could go, Sokka. You already know he can't eat meat," Katara pointed out.

"I know, I know, I'm just saying that the next time we grab a bite, Aang should play the Avatar card and ask for a special discount. No restaurant owner is gonna say no to that, right?"

Aang looked uncomfortable. "I don't like that idea. It's not like I can go around asking people for free stuff just because I'm the Avatar. It wouldn't be right,"

"Oh, come on. We're traveling around the world eating what we can and sleeping where we can because we're constantly being chased by the Fire Nation. I bet people would be honored to help us out by giving us some food, it would be their way of contributing to the cause. If anything, being the Avatar must come with some perks," After seeing the looks he was getting from his sister, Sokka raised his hands in a surrounding manner. "Okay, forget everything I just said. I guess we'll just have to start eating the rocks we find along the way from now on,"

"Excuse me," The three of them turned around to see a boy around their age walking towards them. His attire caught their attention, especially the strange metallic headband he wore. Usually, it was fairly easy to determine people's background and place of birth by looking at their clothes and physical features such as their skin color, but the boy in front of them didn't seem to come from any place they knew of. They assumed he was a traveler from far away lands just like them. "I'm sorry to interrupt your conversation, but I accidentally got lost and ended up here. Could you please tell me where I am?" he asked politely.

Seeing how courteous the boy was, Aang ignored his unusual clothing and gave him an amicable smile. "Sure. This is Gi Yuin Village. It's our first time here as well,"

The boy blinked in confusion, as if he wasn't expecting to receive the answer that he got from Aang. He seemed surprised for some reason. "Gi Yuin Village? I see… Do you know how to get to the Hidden Leaf Village from here? Any route will do,"

Aang, Sokka, and Katara shared a confused look between themselves before the oldest of the group spoke up. "Sorry, but we're not from around here. We don't know how to get to that place. In fact, I've never even heard of it before. I'm guessing it must be pretty far away from here,"

This time, the young traveler paled. "Excuse me, what do you mean you've never heard of the Hidden Leaf Village? Where are you from?"

"Woah there, this is getting a little personal, don't you think?" Sokka replied as he crossed his arms. "Don't take this the wrong way, but where do we come from is really none of your business,"

"Sokka, don't be so rude," Katara said before giving the boy an apologetic look. "I'm sorry about my brother, he's a bit grumpy when it comes to strangers. We're from the Southern Water Tribe, so as you can imagine, we're not really familiar with the towns and villages around here. You should ask the local villagers, they probably know a lot more than we do,"

"… Right, I'll go do that. Thanks for everything," the boy said with a hollow voice. He looked like he had just been slapped across his face by someone he wasn't allowed to slap back. After a short bow, he walked past them with his shoulders sagged in a clear sign of distress.

"Poor guy, I hope he founds his way home. He really looked like he was lost," Katara said once they were out of hearing range. If only she knew how right she was.

Sokka, being the skeptical guy that he was, frowned as he continued to stare at the figure of the traveler from a distance. "I can't put my finger on it, but there's something off about him. His clothes are funny and he mentioned this strange village. What was it called? Hidden Leaf or something? Last time I checked the map, that place was nowhere near where we are. I'm pretty sure it's not even on the map at all,"

"Relax, Sokka. Maybe that place is so small that the map doesn't show it," Aang said. "Besides, my clothes are also funny. That doesn't mean I'm up to no good, does it?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say. It's not like sketchy-looking guys have never caused us any trouble. Am I right, Momo?" Sokka asked, only to realize that the lemur was nowhere to be seen. He looked around the near vicinity in search for their pointy-eared companion, but the only thing he saw were a couple of bystanders minding their own business. "Hey, where's Momo?"

* * *

Something was wrong. Very, very wrong.

If waking up in the middle of nowhere wasn't bad enough, this certainly was. Shujinko had absolutely no idea where he was. He didn't recall ever hearing about the Gi Yuin Village, and he knew pretty much every town and settlement close to the Hidden Leaf Village. Unfortunately, Shujinko didn't carry a map with him, which would've proven to be extremely useful in this situation, if only to figure out how far he was from home.

When he saw the three youngsters from a distance, Shujinko knew immediately that they were travelers from far away. The siblings had darker skin than anyone Shujinko had ever met before, not to mention the fact that they both had blue eyes. The combination of dark skin and blue eyes was quite striking for the Ozuma. He had once heard that it was normal for people from the Land of Lightning to have dark skin, but actually seeing it was another thing. Even their blue clothes were kind of strange, although nothing ludicrous.

The other boy, the youngest of them, was also quite peculiar. His yellow and orange robes were eye-catching and made him stood out from the crowd. He was also bald, which was rather uncommon for someone so young, but definitely, the most bizarre physical feature of the boy were his blue tattoos, especially the huge arrow on his forehead. The only possibility that came to Shujinko's mind was that the boy was some sort of monk, as he seemed to have this very calm and pacifist aura around him.

Shujinko decided that asking them for directions was worth a shot even if they were foreigners. After all, they may come from far away lands, but he was the one who was lost.

The bald boy said they were in Gi Yuin Village, which honestly didn't do him much of a favor. It wasn't a point of reference he could use for geographical guidance since he had never heard of it before. But then, when he asked how to get to the Hidden Leaf Village, none of them seemed to know what he was talking about. That completely dumbfounded him. The Hidden Leaf Village was arguably the most important village in all of the Land of Fire given how it was the military center of the country. It was the place where ninjas were born. You had to be exceptionally ignorant to not know what shinobi village belonged to one of the largest and most powerful countries in the entire continent.

Then the girl of the group started talking about how she and her brother came from the Southern Water Tribe as if it was common knowledge. The only thing he could associate the term "Southern Water Tribe" was to some group of people who presumably lived in the Land of Waves, and even that was a poorly supported theory. He was no expert on race demographics, but none of the people he saw during his mission to protect Tazuna resembled the girl or her brother at all. Again, judging by the color of their skin, the siblings seemed to be from the Land of Lighting, which directly contradicted his theory about them belonging to the Land of Waves.

"How in the name of Kami did I end up here?" Shujinko muttered. The only semi-plausible explanation he could come up with was that he had been captured and drugged by someone so that he would have no memories of how he was abducted, but the fact that he was walking freely and still had all his possessions with him pretty much reduced the chances of that being the case down to zero. His only clue so far was a flashback of darkness followed by an intense light, which hardly made any sense to him at all. It felt like a dream more than anything else.

As he mulled over the illogical circumstances he found himself in, his train of thought was interrupted by the sight of a strange creature chasing after… another strange creature, only this one was much smaller. Intrigued by this, Shujinko followed the two animals until he found them in a blind alley.

The first creature was a mountain cat… with antlers? Shujinko had seen plenty of animals before, but none of them were as bizarre as this one was. It was like a cross between an antler and a cat big enough to carry children on its back. Never in his life had Shujinko considered the possibility of a mountain cat and an antler mating together and giving birth to such a thing. It was literally a freak of nature. The second creature wasn't as ridiculous, but it was still extravagant. It was like a tiny monkey with huge and pointy ears. Its fur was white and black like a panda bear.

In any case, it was clear that the monkey was in deep trouble. He was cornered by the cat with antlers and had no room to escape. The little guy seemed to be terrified, and rightfully so. The cat with antlers was yowling menacingly and slowly approaching him. Since he was in no mood for watching a cute and helpless animal get mauled to death, Shujinko grabbed a stone. "Hey you!" he yelled loud and clear before hurling the stone at the big cat, which let out a short shriek of pain before turning around to face him, showing its fangs. "Let that little monkey thing alone,"

The beast charged at full speed. Shujinko stood his ground and waited for the right moment to react. When the giant mountain cat took a dive forward with its arms extended, the Ozuma grabbed both its antlers and used the cat's momentum to his own advantage by throwing him aside. The creature's body landed on the rough ground, leaving clouds of dust behind.

"I'm warning you, stupid overgrown cat with antlers. Go away before you make me hurt you," Shujinko said out loud. He didn't want to kill or cause heavy injuries upon the wild animal, just enough pain to convince the beast to leave before it got worse. Animals understood through instincts, not reason.

Once again, the antlered mountain cat charged. While fast and agile, the creature's speed couldn't compete against a Chunin like Shujinko, who was more than used to dealing with fast enemies. He picked up a blunt and sturdy stick from the ground, jumped over the incoming beast and wacked its ribs with practiced ease, making sure not to crack any of them by accident.

The antlered mountain cat let out a howl before trotting away. Shujinko certainly smacked the mutant hard enough to make it reconsider its options. The beast, although not particularly intelligent, knew better than to keep fighting a lost fight and begrudgingly fled the scene, much to Shujinko's relief. He dropped the stick and turned around to face the alley. Much to his amusement, the weird monkey was hiding inside a wooden box with its tail sticking out through one of the holes. "It's okay, little guy. The big mean cat is gone. You can come out if you want,"

The creature lifted the box with its tiny paws to take a peek, seemingly understanding the words of the golden-eyed boy. When the monkey saw that the menacing predator was no longer there, it gingerly approached Shujinko, carefully sniffing the air.

"Woah there, easy," Shujinko said when the monkey suddenly climbed up his leg until it was sitting on his right shoulder. Then, as a way to express its gratitude, the pointy-eared creature licked Shujinko's cheek, which brought a small smile to the Chunin. "You have to be more careful, little guy. Next time, try not to pick fights with giant cats with antlers, alright?"

"Momo, there you are! Where have you been all of this time?" Shujinko looked over his other shoulder. The girl with dark skin and blue eyes was making her way to them, coming to a halt five feet away from where Shujinko was standing. "Hey, you're the guy from before, the one who was asking for directions a while ago,"

"That's me, and I'm guessing this little guy right here is Momo," Shujinko replied as he extended his arm, allowing the now-identified Momo to stand on it. "Is he your pet?"

"Sort of. He's more like a companion to us," the girl said before catching Momo in her arms. She then gave the Chunin a grateful smile. "Thanks for finding Momo. I was afraid he was going to get lost somewhere,"

"Don't mention it. My name is Shujinko, by the way. Shujinko Ozuma,"

"Katara. It's nice to meet you,"

Shujinko was pleased with Katara's manners, although her name was a bit strange. It certainly wasn't a common one around the Hidden Leaf Village. 'Come to think of it, Katara's brother also had a weird name. I suppose the Southern Water Tribe… whatever that is, gives its people names like Katara and Sokka. Perhaps it's part of their culture or something,' "Well, now that we know each others' names, can you please tell me what Momo is, exactly? I've never seen that specie of monkeys in my life,"

Katara seemed a little surprised, but answered his question nonetheless. "Momo isn't a monkey, it's a lemur. The truth is, there aren't a whole lot of them left. For all we know, Momo may be the last of its kind. The Fire Nation wiped them out when they attacked the Air Nomads a hundred years ago,"

"Fire Nation?" Shujinko repeated with a raised eyebrow. "Don't you mean the Land of Fire? I suppose they're technically the same, but I've never heard someone referring to my country as the Fire Nation. And what are these Air Nomads that you speak of?"

"You… You come from the Fire Nation?"

The Ozuma was slightly taken aback by the growing look of horror that was growing on Katara's face. She certainly seemed spooked, but Shujinko couldn't figure out why. Had he said something wrong? "Again, it's called Land of Fire, not Fire Nation. And yes, I was born here. Why are you acting so surprised?"

"B-Born here? But… If you're from the Fire Nation, that means…"

Shujinko let out a sigh. Did this girl not know anything about geography at all? How could she not know they were in the Land of Fire? And why was she insisting on calling it the Fire Nation anyway? Not even Naruto was this dimwitted during his days in the Academy, and that was saying something. The golden-eyed boy was beginning to wonder who was really the lost one out of the two of them. "Look, I'll explain this nice and easy. I'm a ninja born and raised in the Hidden Leaf Village. The Hidden Leaf Village is located in the Land of Fire. In case you don't know, ninjas are soldiers trained in the arts of combat and stealth. You must be from really, and I mean really far away to not know of our existence…"

But Katara was no longer paying attention to his words. The moment her brain associated the terms "Land of Fire" and "soldier", she drew her own conclusions. If that wasn't enough, the boy in front of her had golden eyes, a very common trait amongst Fire Nation soldiers, and he was also carrying what seemed to be a knife holster of sorts. Realization dawned upon Katara, and once she understood what was going on, she opened her leather pouch where she kept her water stored.

"… Hello? Are you listening to me, Kata-" Shujinko couldn't finish his sentence as he was suddenly struck by a whip of water controlled by Katara. The attack was so unwarranted that not even Shujinko was able to react to it. The whip slapped him across his face so hard that it nearly caused him to fall on his back, but he managed to regain his stance before that could happen. "What the hell is wrong with you!?" the Ozuma demanded as he rubbed his cheek. "Why did you do that for!?"

"You must be insane if you believe I'm gonna fall for your tricks," Katara retorted, keeping her water whip ready for another attack. "You're a Fire Nation soldier. You're here to capture the Avatar!"

"Avatar? I have no idea what you're talking about, and I'm not interested in capturing anyone! You're not making any sense at all!"

Katara wasn't willing to hear any explanations, much less from a Fire Nation spy. She moved her arms in a circular motion and aimed another lash at Shujinko. This time, the Chunin was capable of evading the liquid tendril by performing a backward summersault to gain some distance from his opponent. Katara seemed impressed by his acrobatic skills, but remained silent as she split her water whip in two, using her hands to control each tendril.

'How is she doing this? It doesn't seem like she's performing Ninjutsu, she's just magically controlling the shape and length of that water. Is that a Kekkei Genkai or is she just that good at Water Release? No, it has to be something else. She's not weaving any hand signs at all,' Shujinko thought. Kakashi once taught him that skilled users of Ninjutsu were capable of performing specific techniques using fewer hand signs than the required amount. But being able to use water the way this girl did without weaving any hand signs whatsoever was borderline impossible.

Then, Katara did something that made Shujinko gape. She divided the water she was controlling into several blobs before turning them into spikes of ice. He had only seen that ability once in his life, and the person who had that ability was Haku, whom he fought against about a year ago. That boy had a Kekkei Genkai that allowed him to use Ice Release, a rare style of Ninjutsu. Was it possible that this girl was a distant relative of Haku?

'But even Haku had to use hand signs in order to perform Ice Release. Katara isn't using any,' Shujinko remembered. Indeed, despite being awfully talented, Haku still had to weave hand signs just like any other shinobi. He could even do hand sings using one hand, a remarkable feat for someone so young, but it didn't change the fact that he needed to use them regardless of how skilled he was.

Without a second to waste, Katara threw her ice pikes at Shujinko, who pulled out two kunais and started to smash the incoming projectiles. Months ago, he would've considered using the Karura Tensei to enhance his reflexes as well as his eyesight in this situation, but the Shujinko of today chose not to. Part of his training under Kakashi included learning not to use a hidden boost or ability straight away. Hawk Sage Mode was a powerful tool, but it was never a good idea to rely on any tool permanently. Instead, it was better to naturally develop the skills that the Karura Tensei granted him and use his Kekkei Genkai only when it was necessary. Kakashi himself avoided using his Sharingan unless he had to.

Besides, while the ice pikes were dangerous, they weren't being thrown with enough potency or accuracy to make them lethal. Shujinko didn't have much difficulty shredding them to bits and pieces using his kunais. Once Katara had run out of pikes to throw, the Ozuma was already running towards her. Realizing that there was no water left inside her pouch, Katara brought a huge mass of water from a well nearby and directed it at Shujinko in the form of a jet. The forceful impact sent the Chunin crashing against the wall and breaking through it.

BAAM

Katara carefully approached the wall Shujinko had crashed into, keeping a water whip ready in case he tried to do something. Much to her shock, Shujinko was nowhere to be seen. Instead, there was… a log of wood? "What in the…"

SWOOSH

Before she could even make sense of what was going on, Katara found herself facing the ground with one of her arms against her back after having her legs swept from behind. She felt something weighing down on her, and she realized she was being subdued, but everything happened way too fast for her to react. Katara attempted to bend some water using her free hand, but the sight of a strange knife getting stuck into the ground inches away from her eyes made her froze.

"Don't move unless you want to get hurt," Shujinko warned her. While her adversary was the owner of a rather interesting power, she didn't seem to have a lot of experience fighting against ninjas if a Replacement Jutsu caught her off guard that badly. At least she wasn't trying to fight back now. "You're going to tell me exactly where do you come from and why you attacked me, is that clear?"

"I have nothing to say to you. I won't let you hurt Aang or the people of this village!" Katara replied hotly.

"Aang? Who is Aang? And why would I want to hurt this Aang you're talking about or the people of this village for that matter? You're either insane or mistaking me for someone else,"

"Mistaking you for someone else? You just admitted you're a spy from the Fire Nation! How stupid do you think I am?"

"I never said that you were stupid, but you're definitely giving me the impression that you're crazy," Shujinko replied. "And by the way, how many times do I have to tell you? It's called the Land of Fire. Literally nobody calls it the 'Fire Nation'. It's like you're talking about a different place. And besides, what's with all this resentment? What has the Land of Fire ever done to you?"

Katara turned her head around as much as she could so that her angry gaze met Shujinko's. "Oh, you mean besides starting the Hundred Year War and causing pain and misery wherever you go? Or how about when you attacked the Northern Water Tribe just a month ago? That's all you Fire Nation soldiers do, attack and hurt innocent people! And the worst thing of all is that you won't even admit it to yourself!"

…

Shujinko pulled out the kunai that was stuck into the ground and placed it inside its holster. Then, much to Katara's surprise, he got off of her and gently helped her stand up. Katara was about to start using Waterbending against him, but the befuddled look on Shujinko's face made her stop, especially after what he said to her. "... What are you talking about? What Northern Water Tribe? What hundred-year war? I think I would know if my country was invading other lands,"

The tone of his voice, coupled with the puzzled stare she was receiving from those exotic golden eyes, was enough for Katara to calm down and listen to what he was saying. Besides, had he really wanted to hurt her, Shujinko could've easily done that while he was restraining her, yet instead he chose not to. However, what Shujinko had just told her made no sense whatsoever. "Wait, you don't know about the war that's been going on? How is that even possible? Where have you been all of this time?" Katara asked incredulously.

Shujinko crossed his arms, his brow furrowed. "Here, in the Land of Fire. Besides, I'm a shinobi from the Hidden Leaf Village, arguably the most important place in all of the country. I'm pretty sure I would've heard whispers or rumors about this so-called war a long time ago,"

The waterbender blinked in confusion. "Here? But we're in the Earth Kingdom, not the Land of Fire or however you want to call it. Are you sure this Hidden Leaf Village exists? Because I've never heard of it, and I can bet neither Aang nor Sokka have. They sound like imaginary places,"

"Excuse me, but the only imaginary places I'm hearing are the ones coming out of your mouth," Shujinko snapped, but on the inside, he was beginning to tremble out of anxiety and uncertainness. This whole conversation was giving him a bad feeling. "Earth Kingdom? Fire Nation? How can I not know about them if they've existed for so long? Why are you lying to me?"

"I'm not lying! You're the one who's not making any sense!"

Before things could get any more heated, Sokka and the bald kid, whom Shujinko supposed was Aang, came running to them in a hurry. "Katara, there you are! We have to leave this place immediately!" Sokka shouted, completely ignoring the boy next to his sister.

"What happened, Sokka?" Katara asked with concern.

"We spotted a squad of Fire Nation soldiers arriving here. They're interrogating the locals about us, and if we don't escape now, we're gonna get ourselves and the rest of the townspeople in trouble,"

"Sokka's right. I can't let the people who live here to get hurt on my behalf," Aang said. "These Fire Nation soldiers are after us. We have to let them know we escaped, otherwise they might threaten the villagers and ask them if they have seen us,"

"Whoever these Fire Nation soldiers are, they're clearly not ninjas," Shujinko replied abruptly. The three youngsters turned to him, none of them seeming to understand what the shinobi had just stated. The Ozuma ignored their confused gazes and gave Aang a sharp look. "Where are they now?"

The Avatar felt slightly uncomfortable under Shujinko's demanding stare but answered nonetheless. "They must be near the market place by now, but why do you want to know that?"

Shujinko didn't bother to reply. Instead, he lowered his knees and performed a swift jump that took him to the roof of a wooden building. His movements were so fast that it almost looked as if he had disappeared out of thin air for a second. Aang, Sokka, and Katara watched in shocked silence how the boy jumped from one roof to another with no difficulty whatsoever.

"Woah, how is he doing that?" Sokka asked no one in particular as he watched the strange-looking boy defy the laws of physics.

Aang himself was mute. He didn't know any other human being other than himself capable of doing similar acrobatics. Experimented airbenders were able to manipulate the element of air to their advantage when it came to moving from one place to another, something he had done on multiple occasions. However, this boy was performing no Airbending whatsoever, or at the very least it didn't look like it. As crazy as it sounded, the guy was simply jumping over houses as if he had the natural strength and speed to do so.

As she witnessed someone performing the impossible, Katara recalled the short fight she had against Shujinko. Somehow, against all logic and reason, the brown-haired boy replaced himself with a log of wood during the heat of the battle in order to avoid getting struck by the water she was bending. Katara still couldn't wrap her head around that, but she pretty much saw it with her own eyes. And now, as if that previous stunt wasn't crazy enough, Shujinko was casually jumping over the streets from one roof to another like it was no big deal.

What was equally mindboggling was that, for some reason she couldn't quite grasp, Shujinko didn't seem to have any knowledge about the Hundred Year War whatsoever. He claimed to have come from the Fire Nation, or the 'Land of Fire' as he called it. Katara assumed those two places were the same, only with a different name. After all, there couldn't be much of an etymological difference between the terms Fire Nation and Land of Fire. But then, Shujinko said he was born here in the Earth Kingdom and referred to it as the Land of Fire, which made absolutely no sense whatsoever.

And yet, something was telling Katara that Shujinko was being truthful. He spoke with conviction and he truly seemed to be lost and in need of help. At the very least she wanted to hear an explanation for his weird behavior and his intriguing abilities. The only thing she could tell for certain was that Shujinko was far from being an ordinary boy.

"Never mind that guy, we have to find Appa and go now!" Sokka shouted all of a sudden.

"Wait, but what about him?" Aang asked referring to Shujinko. "He's not from around here, are you sure we should leave him behind?"

"Don't you see it, Aang? He's probably on his way to rat us out! For all we know, he could be a Fire Nation spy!"

"He's not," Katara said firmly. "We have to go after him,"

Sokka gave his sister a desperate look. "Not now, Katara! This is serious! How can you tell he's not a spy?"

"Women intuition. Come on, let's go before it's too late,"

* * *

"Listen up, peasants. We have urgent news coming from the Fire Nation," the lieutenant of the Fire Nation squad, a man named Kaizu, said as he stood on an empty cart in the middle of the market place, where a large group of people had gathered. "We've been informed that the Avatar might be in one of these stinking villages that you call home. If any of you cockroaches see a boy who matches the description of the wanted posters, you're obligated to share whatever information you have with us. If we find out that any of you have been giving him food or shelter, this town will suffer the consequences of betraying the glorious Fire Nation,"

The villagers started to murmur at each other, asking if they had seen a bald boy with blue tattoos around. Shujinko was right. These nutcases who wore red armor couldn't possibly be ninjas. Not only had they yet to detect his presence amongst the crowd, but they also drew too much attention to themselves and acted far too superior for their own good. That being said, they didn't seem like common thugs or mercenaries either. They were more like… well, soldiers, except that Shujinko had never seen that kind of armor before.

Lieutenant Kaizu then smirked, slightly arching his Fu Manchu mustache. "Now, in order to incentivize the capture of the Avatar, the Fire Lord has deemed appropriate to reward those who contribute to our enterprise. 20 golden pieces will be given to whoever gives us solid information that will lead us to the Avatar's whereabouts, 150 golden pieces to whoever brings us the Avatar alive. With that amount of money, any of you could leave this degrading pigsty of a village and start a new life with new hopes. The choice is yours,"

After hearing Lieutenant Kaizu's announcement, Shujinko's mind began to formulate a theory. These soldiers were probably being paid by the owner of the land to capture this Avatar person. The owner of the land had the title of "Fire Lord", awfully eccentric and pompous in Shujinko's opinion, and it sounded almost the same as Feudal Lord. If he were to guess, whoever this Avatar was, he had committed a crime or an offense grave enough for the Fire Lord to send his soldiers after him.

It made the Ozuma wonder why this Fire Lord sent his own soldiers after the Avatar instead of hiring ninjas, who specialized in this sort of affairs. Granted, using his soldiers was probably cheaper than making a contract with a shinobi village, but if these men had to literally announce to every town that they were looking for a certain someone, then they couldn't be very efficient at tracking people down or gathering information. Besides, Shujinko didn't know how much value these golden pieces have or how their worth translated into ryos, but 150 golden pieces sounded like a lot of money, probably enough to hire the services of a qualified shinobi.

Shujinko managed to get his hands on one of the wanted posters that were being distributed by the soldiers. Much to his surprise, the Avatar was none other than Aang, the bald monk with the blue arrowhead. The poster depicted a fairly accurate image of the young boy, along with a short description of his appearance and his clothing.

The information in the wanted poster didn't include a reason as for why Aang was being persecuted. The fact that Aang didn't seem to be older than him was far too strange for Shujinko to ignore. He expected the Avatar to be a grown man, not a boy who was barely starting puberty. What could Aang have done to have a price on his head?

'Maybe he's not a criminal,' Shujinko thought. 'Maybe he comes from an important family that opposes the Fire Lord, and the Fire Lord wants to capture Aang to use him as a bargaining chip. The whole monk attire might just be a costume that he uses to avoid raising suspicion wherever he goes. I can't tell for sure. There's so much that still needs to be explained,'

"Hey, you there!" Shujinko lifted his eyes from the poster and looked over his shoulder. One of the soldiers was approaching him, and he didn't look very pleased with Shujinko's presence. "Your clothes are not from around here. Where do you come from and what is your name?"

The Ozuma folded the paper in half twice before placing it inside one of his pockets. "If you want to know someone's name, it's a fairly common courtesy to give yours first," he replied.

The soldier spat on the ground, clearly annoyed by the answer he received. "Don't get smart with me, kid. Answer my question right now or else,"

This imbecile clearly didn't know whom he was talking to. It was particularly moronic for a common soldier to threaten a shinobi, even if they were Genins fresh out of the Academy. Civilians and people who weren't ninjas, in general, saw them as magical and deadly individuals that lurked in the shadows. They were like living ghost who were able to appear wherever they wanted and disappear in a blink of an eye.

However, what people associated ninjas the most with was their ability to kill. There were hundreds if not thousands of imaginable ways for a shinobi to end the life of a common man. The metallic headband worn by them already demanded respect out of those who had never even held a kunai before in their lives, and while shinobis were usually strictly forbidden from killing those whose existence didn't endanger theirs or the success of their mission, most regular people wouldn't dare test their patience nor their temper. This was specially the case when dealing with missing-nins, shinobis who had forsaken their villages and who followed their own moral code.

In any case, Shujinko didn't want to start an unnecessary fight against a dunce of a foot soldier, as he would gain nothing from it other than troublesome attention. _"The best fights are the ones that you can avoid," _Kakashi once told him. "My name is Shujinko Ozuma. I'm a shinobi from the Hidden Leaf Village," Shujinko said. He added that last bit with hopes of getting his message across and get the man to leave him alone.

It didn't work. The soldier frowned heavily at him, stepping forward until he was at arms-length with the Chunin. "Shinobi? I've never heard that word before, and I know for a fact that this village that you speak of doesn't exist here in the Earth Kingdom. Are you trying to make fun of me, you little scumbag?"

That was it. This was the second person that didn't know about the existence of the Hidden Leaf Village. When Katara and her brother Sokka claimed they had never heard about the Hidden Leaf Village, Shujinko was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt given the fact that they were foreigners, but this was coming from a _soldier. _To think that a soldier, someone instructed in the ways of war, was unaware of the most military-focused village in all of the land was just preposterous.

And he also mentioned something about being in the "Earth Kingdom"… That made no sense. Not only was that geographically incorrect, but it was also historically inaccurate. Kingdoms used to be a form of government that no longer existed in the current day and age. Probably the most iconic piece of history reminiscent of kingdoms was Shogi, the board game created by the original purpose of entertaining kings and teaching generals about strategy. It was a useful tool even for shinobis, Shujinko being an aficionado himself. In any case, kingdoms no longer existed anywhere in the shinobi continent and anyone who claimed otherwise was a madman.

But then, an unnerving thought crossed Shujinko's mind, a possibility he hadn't considered before.

All of this time, he had been trying to figure out the circumstances that brought him to this strange place under the assumption that he had left the village less than 24 hours ago, as his most recent memory was him going to bed at night. He woke up in a forest and found himself unable to recall the events that led him to where he was. If he couldn't do that, then it was completely possible that more than 24 hours had passed since he left the village. What if a week had gone by without him knowing? What if he had lost his memory of the last month?

He was so lost in his train of thought that he forgot about the soldier in front of him, who was now grabbing him by the collar of his vest. "Ignoring your superiors, are you? I'm gonna teach you a lesson for being so disrespectful,"

Much to the soldier's surprise, Shujinko glared at him intensely. "Get your hand off me before I beat the snot out of you," he replied. The Ozuma was fed up with the uncertainty of his situation, as well as the soldier's arrogance and disdainful attitude.

"Why you…" the soldier, shocked by the boy's display of audacity, pulled his arm back and proceeded to slap Shujinko with the back of his hand…

… Or at least he tried. Shujinko effortlessly stopped his hand before it got close to his face. In an almost imperceptive move, the Chunin punched the soldier square in the face with a strength that did not belong to a normal fourteen-year-old boy. The man wobbled backwards and tripped over his own feet, landing on the mud and covering his armor in filth.

Everyone in the near vicinity stood in silence as they experienced a mix of emotions. They were shocked that someone so young would dare attack a Fire Nation troop, grateful to the boy for standing up to the ones that had been abused and berated Gi Yuin Village for so long, and terrified for the inevitable result of Shujinko's action. Insulting a Fire Nation soldier was already a punishable crime in an of itself, and attacking one of them was one of the biggest offenses against the law, at least in any place the Fire Nation had deployed soldiers to in order to impose authority.

Filled with blinding rage, the soldier stood up and performed a straight punch, releasing a fireball at Shujinko. His shinobi instincts kicked in, and Shujinko jumped over the flaming projectile with a summersault, landing on the edge of a house's roof. Almost as soon as he landed, the Ozuma jumped from his spot in a diagonal fashion, turning around in midair and kicking the soldier's forehead. The force behind the kick and the speed with which was delivered was enough to knock the soldier's lights out, sending him flying a couple of feet away.

Aang, Sokka, and Katara managed to reach the marketplace just in time to see this happen. While still impressed, Katara had already seen Shujinko in action before and had at least a vague idea of his abilities, which was why she wasn't _as _dumbfounded as Aang and Sokka were. Those two were gawking like koi fishes, amazed by how easily the lost foreigner had taken out a Fire Nation soldier without the need to use bending.

"Men, capture that boy!" Lieutenant Kaizu barked. Soon, fourteen other soldiers barged into the scene, some of them wielding spears while the rest of the soldiers adopted peculiar fighting stances Shujinko had never seen before.

The first soldier that attacked was brandishing a spear. Shujinko dodged the first two thrusts by taking two steps backs and swerving his body so that the blade wouldn't touch him. The soldier then performed a spin before swinging his weapon horizontally. Shujinko immediately ducked down, allowing the sharp steel to pass over his head before retaliating with a powerful uppercut to the jaw.

Another soldier decided to send a compressed fireball at Shujinko while his partner was still stunned by the uppercut he received. Shujinko saw the circular motions of the second soldier and predicted his attack. He quickly grabbed the soldier's spear and forced him to turn around before kicking him in the gut, snatching the weapon from his hands in the process.

By the time the soldier realized what was going on, a fireball was already on its way to where he was and the golden-eyed boy was nowhere near close to him. Using his own bending, the soldier tried to counter the incoming fireball by creating a fireball of his own, but he was too slow to react. The two fireballs exploded upon impact and the soldier was sent back, crashing against a pile of wooden boxes.

Shujinko approached the soldier who had just released a fireball at him, dodging his flames by diving in a zigzag fashion. Panicking by how close Shujinko was, the soldier released a ring of fire around himself, but the shinobi simply jumped over the expanding ring of fire and landed a strike on the soldier's temple, taking advantage of the fact that his adversary wasn't wearing a helmet.

"We have to help him!" Aang said as he grabbed his staff and jumped into the action. Katara, who was willing to help Shujinko defeat the Fire Nation soldiers even after her previous confrontation with the golden-eyed boy, followed him. Watching him fight against the troops made Katara question the image she had of Shujinko. She no longer believed Shujinko to be a Fire Nation spy; he was just a peculiar guy with abilities that were out of the ordinary from a probably even weirder place.

"Do we have to?" Sokka asked as he saw Aang and Katara approach the Ozuma. "Shouldn't we take this opportunity to… Oh fine, let's help him," he said in a surrendering tone of voice once he realized neither of them was listening to him.

Shujinko frowned heavily at the incoming group who had joined the fight. "What are you doing?" he asked them as they formed a defensive line alongside him.

"Don't worry, we're not gonna hurt you. You don't have to face all of them on your own," Aang replied. "These people are looking for me, so the least I can do is give you a hand,"

The idea of fighting side by side with a group of strangers didn't sit well with the brown-haired boy. He was especially wary of Katara, who had assaulted him without a reason or motive that he could deem as understandable. Still, he could use some help taking out these chums without having to kill any of them, not only because he always tried to avoid killing people unless it was absolutely necessary, but also because murdering one of the soldiers of the Fire Lord, whoever that guy was, could create huge problems for him and his village in the future. After all, he ignored the circumstances and the context of the situation he found himself in, and it was better to be safe than sorry.

"Very well, then. I hope you guys know how to handle yourselves," Shujinko finally said.

Once the unexpected alliance had been acquiescently conformed, the group split into two. Aang teamed up with Katara and Sokka remained with Shujinko. As they fought, the Chunin noticed that despite not weaving any hand signs whatsoever, Aang, Katara, and the Fire Nation soldiers were capable of using some weird version of elemental Ninjutsu. It was hard to describe, but it was as if these guys were connected to their respective elements in a way Shujinko had never seen before.

There were other differences between Ninjutsu and the elemental manipulation he was seeing here. Most Fire Release techniques relied on the user spitting out fire in various shapes and sizes. These soldiers, however, released flames from their hands and even their feet, something so difficult to do that was considered to be nearly impossible, even by shinobis' standards. Nevertheless, these soldiers couldn't be actual ninjas judging by the way they carried themselves and the way they acted. Besides, they were too slow and straightforward in their attacks, which was why Shujinko was able to read their movements and attack them using Taijutsu alone.

The Ozuma was currently fending off two soldiers at the same time while Sokka held his club and his machete, looking left and right for someone to fight. His opportunity presented itself in the form of Lieutenant Kaizu, who was standing on the sloped rooftop of a house between two other soldiers of his squad. "Men, attack!" Lieutenant Kaizu ordered.

Without thinking twice about it, Sokka grabbed his boomerang and threw it. Lieutenant Kaizu and his soldiers were ready to jump out of the way, but the throwing weapon didn't even come close to hitting them, as if the boy from the Water Tribe had intended to throw the boomerang at an invisible target more than ten feet away from where they were standing.

The three firebenders stared at each other in slight confusion before Lieutenant Kaizu quickly snapped out of it. "Don't lose your attention so easily, you idiots! I said attack!"

CLANK

Lieutenant Kaizu was suddenly struck in the back of his head by Sokka's boomerang. Even though he was wearing a helmet, the unexpected impact was enough for Lieutenant Kaizu to lose his balance and end up slipping down the rooftop. In a desperate attempt, Lieutenant Kaizu grabbed the ankles of both his soldiers, but the only thing he managed to do was to make them lose their footing as well, and in the end, the three of them fell face-first to the muddy ground.

"Woo-hoo! That's what Sokka's talking about, baby!" Sokka exclaimed. "Who needs bending when you have a boomerang?"

Sokka was so caught up in his celebration that he didn't notice the Fire Nation soldier coming at him until it was almost too late. The soldier swung his sword horizontally, and while Sokka managed to raise his club and his machete just in time, he unintentionally dropped them after parrying two of his attacks. The soldier charged again, and with nothing to defend himself with, Sokka stepped back and accidentally fell on his butt after placing his foot on wet dirt.

The soldier raised his sword over his head, intending to finish business. Sokka closed his eyes and brought his arms to his face…

CLANG

The sword never reached Sokka. When he opened his eyes, he saw Shujinko standing between him and the soldier, holding two of his weird knives in a crisscross fashion to stop the blade from coming any closer. The boy with brown hair and strange clothes had seemingly appeared out of nowhere, almost as if he was using some kind of teleportation.

Of course, that wasn't the case. It was just that Shujinko's speed far exceeded that of a normal human being due to his training, and for someone who had never been trained in the shinobi arts, it was borderline impossible to fully perceive the movements of a ninja. Shujinko was fast, but not particularly so when compared to people like Neji, Lee, and Kakashi just to name a few.

"What are you waiting for!?" Shujinko shouted as he glared at Sokka over his shoulder, still struggling against the swordsman. "Don't just sit there, move!" Shujinko's command shook Sokka out of his state of trance. Realizing that he was still in danger, the son of Hakoda grabbed his weapons and scurried off to where Aang and Katara were.

Now that he didn't have to worry about Sokka, the Ozuma could concentrate on his fight. While the swordsman certainly didn't lack strength, he committed the terrible mistake of spreading his legs too wide for his own good, and Shujinko didn't hesitate to send a kick to his family jewels. Granted, attacking someone's genitals wasn't the noblest thing to do even during a physical confrontation, but it was damn effective and that was all Shujinko cared about. Besides, he was fighting against an enemy, not sparring against a comrade.

The swordsman's eyes bugged out and his jaw fell open. He _really _felt that one. Taking advantage of his position, Shujinko lowered his kunais, forcing the soldier to do the same with his blade. Then, Shujinko buried his knee deep into the man's gut to make him lose whatever oxygen he still had inside his lungs, and to finish it all up, the brown-haired boy punched the soldier in the face with enough strength to send him several steps back until he fell, clutching his groin in agony.

Shujinko turned around. All of the soldiers were either unconscious or experiencing too much pain to stand back up, but none of them were dead. Until he knew for certain who was this Fire Lord and what the Fire Nation was, killing soldiers was something he wanted to avoid.

"I think that's the last of them," Aang said to Katara while Sokka used a ladder to reach Momo, who had climbed up a post the minute the fight had taken place. "At least we managed to get enough food for a couple of days before this happened. So what do we do now?"

"We have to call Appa and leave this village. They'll be looking for us the minute they wake up. It's too dangerous to stick around here," Katara replied.

"Aang, Katara, look out!" Sokka shouted.

One Fire Nation soldier was standing on the rooftop of another house with a bow and a quiver full of arrows. He was the only one who had been smart enough to hide in a secure place and wait until the fighting was over before attacking. By the time Sokka had alerted Aang and Katara of his presence, the soldier had already tensed his bow and was seconds away from firing an arrow directed at Aang.

SWOOSH

THUCK

Having felt the presence of the soldier before Sokka had, Shujinko threw a shuriken at the wooden weapon. The metallic star got embedded into the bow, startling the archer and making him miss his shot. Instead of hitting its target, the arrow flew straight into a pile of hay that happened to be nearby.

"What the...!"

BAAM

After throwing his shuriken and possibly saving the life of the bald kid, Shujinko approached the archer at great speed and delivered a flying kick that took him off guard. It was basically the same kick as Might Guy's Dynamic Entry, but without yelling out the stupid name first since doing that wasn't just ridiculous, but also counterproductive as it gave away Guy's position.

The archer saw stars when Shujinko's feet met his face. His body crashed against the chimney, knocking his lights out for good. Shujinko let out a sigh, glad to have reacted in time. He jumped off the house and slowly made his way to the group of teenagers who were staring at him, their jaws slacking.

"How did you do that?" Katara asked almost immediately.

"You can ask questions later. Right now, it's important that we leave this place as soon as we can, and I'm coming with you," Shujinko replied with a no-nonsense tone of voice.

Sokka frowned. "Wait a minute, we don't know who you are. Who said you can come with us?"

"I did. I need someone to explain to me what is going on and where I am. Considering how I just saved your lives, I think the least you can do is give me some information,"

"Sokka, I think he's right," Aang interjected. "He did help us out with those soldiers, and if he wanted to hurt us, he would've done so already. I say we give him a chance,"

Katara remained silent. After what happened with Jet, she had a hard time trusting complete strangers, even if they seemed to have good intentions. It would be foolish of her to repeat the same mistake twice. Although she usually trusted Aang's sense of judgment, Katara knew the young monk almost always assumed that the people around them had honest intentions only, which sometimes did more harm than good.

Regardless, Shujinko did indeed help them defeat the Fire Nation soldiers and even prevented something terrible from happening by stopping that archer. Who knew what would've happened if Shujinko hadn't been there. Although she still had her fair share of doubts, Katara decided that hearing what Shujinko had to say wasn't such a terrible idea, or at least it wouldn't be the worst idea they had ever come up with.

"I'm with Aang. We can't leave him alone here after lending us a hand," Katara said. Shujinko sent a curious glance her way. First, she attacked him, and now she was fine with him being around? Whatever. He didn't know how the mind of a girl worked, and there were more important issues at hand right now.

The corner of Sokka's mouth twitched, clearly not approving the way things were developing. As far as he was concerned, the foreigner had no place in their group, not because he had anything against the guy in particular, but rather because he wasn't fond of new incorporations and rushed decisions. Sokka was about to tell them to forget about it until he remembered how the stranger saved his life when he confronted the swordsman that was about to deliver the killing blow. He owed him, and Sokka hated owing people when he didn't know anything about them. The only way to clear his debt was by accepting the stranger's request and get over with this mess as soon as possible.

"Fine, he can tag along for the time being. Now let's get out of here," Sokka finally said, much to Aang and Katara's satisfaction.

"Wait, please," an elderly man said as he made his way towards them. He was old enough to have a few grandchildren of his own. "On behalf of Gi Yuin village, please accept our gratitude. Those Fire Nation soldiers have been causing an awful lot of trouble as of lately. Knowing that there are young and brave lads like you out there, who are willing to fight back against the oppression of the Fire Nation, gives my heart comfort,"

"Think nothing of it, sir," Aang replied as he bowed and performed a sign with his hands. Shujinko supposed it was a common way to show respect around these weird lands. "I'm sorry for causing the village so much trouble. Some stuff got destroyed here and there,"

"An awfully low price to pay in exchange for justice. Barrels and buildings can be repaired, but the same thing cannot be said about the pride of those ruffians,"

"When they realize that we're gone, those soldiers will be asking the people of this village where did we ran off to," Shujinko said. "If you want to thank us, you can do so by giving the soldiers false information. Tell the villagers to give different leads in case they ever get questioned. Other villages, towns, and cities within a reasonable distance from here should throw them off. With enough people giving different answers, those soldiers won't know where to begin looking for,"

The elderly man nodded. "A wise idea, I'll make sure everyone follows it. Safe travels, young ones,"

Sokka rubbed his temples in exasperation. "Alright, alright, enough chit chat. We'd love to stay for a cup of tea and biscuits, but we're kinda in the middle of something called 'not getting hunted by the Fire Nation', and we've wasted enough time already. Come on people, let's move out,"

* * *

The group of travelers walked deep into the forest in search of a glade large enough to call for Appa. Since the Sky Bison would've attracted far too much attention in a small place such as Gi Yuin Village, it was decided that Appa was going to fly around undetected while Aang and the siblings from the Water Tribe went to buy the provisions they needed.

Due to Shujinko's presence, the group was unusually quiet. Sokka, who was besides Shujinko, walked in front of Katara in case the new guy tried to do something to his sister. As for Katara, she wasn't enjoying the awkward silence, but she wanted to avoid talking to Shujinko unless she had to. If Katara accidentally let it slip that she and Shujinko had a bit of a confrontation before the Fire Nation soldiers arrived, Aang and especially Sokka weren't going to be happy and violence was more than likely to happen.

Aang did his best to avoid eye contact with Shujinko, although he couldn't help stealing a few glances his way, only to turn his head around when Shujinko stared back at him with a raised eyebrow. The tension was truly tangible. He occasionally threw out Shujinko innocent, non-invasive comments in order to lighten up the mood, and while Shujinko did not ignore said comments, it was rather obvious that Aang, Sokka, and Katara were waiting for the right moment to ask the big questions.

"Alright, here we are!" Aang cheerily announced as they reached a glade inside the woods. "This place looks large enough for Appa to fit in. I'll call him right now,"

"Who's Appa?" Shujinko asked.

"Mhm? Oh, right, you wouldn't know. Appa is our friend. He lets us ride on his back and fly to wherever we need to go. If it weren't for him, we never would've gotten here, or anywhere for that matter,"

Shujinko blinked once… twice… thrice… "Right… I'll just pretend that what you said made sense. It's not my business anyways," he said before taking a seat on a fallen tree. The forest was oddly familiar to ones back in the Hidden Leaf Village, which made him feel as if he was in the village he called home, even if only for a second. Shaking the thoughts out of his head, the Ozuma gave Aang a serious stare. "Now, I think I deserve some answers,"

Aang blew a strange whistle shaped like an animal, emitting a deaf sound that the human ear could barely even register. "Well, what do you want to know?"

"First and foremost, I'd like to know where we are,"

"… Inside a forest near Gi Yuin Village?" Aang asked tentatively.

The Chunin slapped his forehead. "Yes, Aang, I know that. I'm talking about where we are as a whole. I've never heard of Gi Yuin village before, and the same thing goes to all the places I've heard so far. I don't know how I ended up here. The only thing I know is that I have to find a way to the Hidden Leaf Village as soon as possible. I could really use a map right now,"

"Well, if what you need is a map, you could use ours," Katara offered. She then stared at her brother, who reluctantly took out a carefully rolled piece of paper attached to a thin string of leather and tossed it to Shujinko, who caught it effortlessly.

"Thanks. It won't take me long. I'll get out of your hair as soon as I figure out where I am and how to get to where I need to go," Shujinko said as his facial features softened considerably. He was finally, _finally _making some progress.

Removing the string of leather, Shujinko opened the map…

…

The eyes of Aang, Katara, and Sokka widened when Shujinko began to frown at the map, even going as far as switching its position several times before reading the name of the places shown in it. His frown deepened by the second until it became a full-blown glare. His odd behavior caused the three other youngsters to share a curious look between them until Aang spoke up.

"Huuuh, Shujinko… is there something wrong?"

Shujinko extended his arm as he showed the map to the group. "Well, yeah. What kind of map is this? Where the hell are we?"

* * *

Aaaaaaaand that was chapter 2. Hope you all liked it.

So how was it? Starting a story is hardly ever easy, especially when your character finds itself in a world different from its own. I tried my hardest to make Shujinko's reactions and thoughts as believable as I could. And how was the scene fight? I know it wasn't as exciting as other fights I have planned, but you have to keep in mind that Shujinko is a Chunin and has been training with Kakashi over eight months now, so yeah, don't be surprised if he doesn't go all out against a couple of fodder firebenders. I think we can all agree that the average shinobi beats the average bender. At the very least that's what I think and I know most of you think the same as I.

Don't forget to Review, Favorite & Follow

Peace!


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3: A NEW WORLD**

* * *

(Disclaimer: Avatar The Last Airbender belongs to Nickelodeon and Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. I only own my OC's)

(PLEASE READ: THIS IS NOT A SEQUEL TO "SHUJINKO: THE FOURTH MEMBER", BUT A DIFFERENT STORY WITH SHUJINKO AS THE MAIN CHARACTER. THIS STORY WILL NOT HAVE ANY EFFECT WHATSOEVER IN "SHUJINKO SHIPPUDEN". I REPEAT, THIS IS NOT A SEQUEL TO SHUJINKO'S ORIGINAL STORY)

Summary: One night, a stranger breaks into Shujinko's house and tries to steal one of the most mystical objects in the history of the Ozuma clan: The Eye of Kazemaru. When Shujinko tries to stop him, the two of them activate an ancient and forgotten power of the gem by accident, which sends them to another dimension where a certain bald-headed monk has to master the four elements in order to defeat the evil Fire Lord. What kind of impact will Shujinko's presence have in the Avatar universe? Who is this stranger and what does he want? Get ready for one wild space-time adventure

* * *

"What kind of map is this? Where the hell are we?"

Shujinko's question baffled Team Avatar. No one was able to answer him because none of them really knew what he was talking about. They thought Shujinko would calm down after getting his hands on a map, but instead, he looked angrier than before, almost scandalized. His reaction was irrational, incomprehensible, and completely perplexing.

Sokka was the first to respond. "What do you mean by that? You needed a map and we handed you one. Isn't that what you were asking for?"

"This map makes no sense. Fire Nation? Earth Kingdom? North Pole and South Pole? These places don't exist. Where are the Five Great Shinobi Nations?"

"The Five Great Shinobi Nations?" Aang repeated.

"Yes! The Five Great Shinobi Nations! The Land of Fire, the Land of Water, the Land of Lightning, the Land of Wind, and the Land of Earth! I don't see them anywhere on this map. Do you expect me to believe that we're not in any of them?"

"Shujinko, calm down," Katara said, raising her hands in an appeasing gesture. "We don't know what you're talking about, but I can assure you that the map and all the places shown there are real. We're in the Earth Kingdom right now. Those other countries… They just don't exist. They never have,"

Aang nodded in agreement. He had never heard of those places either, and he was a monk who came a hundred years from the past. If anyone should have any knowledge of the countries Shujinko mentioned, it would have to be him, yet he didn't.

Unable to hold back, Shujinko lowered his head and buried his face in his palms. He wasn't going to cry, but he just didn't know how much of this could he take. He felt like he was about to tear his hair out any given moment. He probably would've done that already had he been a normal person, but he was a shinobi, and a shinobi had to avoid giving in to despair no matter what. Even so, he was a step away from sending everything to hell and start acting violently.

Then, he remembered something. While the shinobi continent was huge, it wasn't the only continent known to man. There were other places in the world that remained vastly unexplored. Most sailors wouldn't dare travel to other continents due to the inherent dangers that came with the expedition, and shinobis were too busy dealing with their own affairs to set their eyes on foreign lands with no value to them. The shinobi continent was, for the most part, isolated from the rest of the world, which didn't really matter all that much given the number of nations inside the shinobi continent.

Naturally, Shujinko was clueless about the state of affairs in other continents. He wasn't even all that knowledgeable about what was happening inside his own continent. All Shujinko really cared about was his village and what was happening to other shinobi villages, as long as the events that took place there affected the Hidden Leaf. If he were indeed in another continent, which seemed to be the case, it would make sense for him to be unaware of practically everything that was going on around him. This, of course, led to another question.

How in the name of Kami did he end up in another freaking continent?

"Shujinko, is everything alright?" Katara asked worriedly. Shujinko had been sitting there in silence, still covering his face with his hands. When he looked up, there was nothing but confusion and anguish in his eyes. She could only guess what was going on inside his mind, but it was clear that he was troubled, so much that even Katara couldn't help but feel a bit sad for him.

"No, nothing's alright. I'm lost, I can't remember how I got here and I don't know what to do. Nothing is making sense," he replied.

A roar in the skies crashed Shujinko's train of thought and prevented him from sinking any deeper into the pool of misery he found himself in. He immediately jumped out of the way and pulled out two kunais, but he nearly dropped them when he saw a giant beast with two horns, white fur, six legs, and a huge tail land on the ground. He couldn't come up with a word that could describe how bizarre the creature was. Momo and the antlered cat were weird enough, but this thing was just…

"There you are, buddy. Took you long enough to get here," the Avatar said as he made approached the beast as he extended his open hand.

"Aang, what are you doing!? Get away from there!" Shujinko exclaimed all the way from he was standing. "That thing is gonna eat you alive!"

The giant beast turned its head, grumbling as it stared at Shujinko with two huge eyes. Shujinko lowered his knees, expecting the beast to charge at him, but much to his surprise, it did nothing. It just stared at him curiously, as if the gargantuan creature was able to understand his words.

"Relax, Appa's not going to hurt us. He's our friend," Aang explained, wary of the knives Shujinko was carrying. He understood that the lost traveler was shocked by Appa's appearance, although it did surprise him that instead of shouting or running away, Shujinko stood his ground and adopted a confrontational attitude, as if he was ready to attack Appa should anything happen. He wasn't scared of the Flying Bison like most Fire Nation soldiers were upon meeting him. "And Appa doesn't eat people. Isn't that right, Appa?"

The beast now known as Appa let out a small roar as if saying, _"Correct". _Shujinko didn't bother to hide his surprise as he gawked like a fool. "Wait a minute… that's Appa? That _thing_ is your friend?"

This time, Appa growled at him, probably not very happy at being called a thing. Aang scratched his fur soothingly to appease its temper. "Calm down, buddy. Shujinko didn't mean to say that. He's just surprised, that's all," he said before giving Shujinko an amicable smile. "Don't worry about Appa, he's the friendliest Flying Bison you'll ever meet. Appa, this is Shujinko. He's gonna be traveling with us for a little while, so be nice to him, okay?"

Shujinko blinked. "I am?"

"He is?" Katara followed.

"No, he's not. We don't know anything about this guy. Showing him a map is one thing, but allowing him to join us is a whole different matter. For all we know, he's playing dumb with us and we can't take any risks," Sokka said with finality.

Aang frowned, sending a worried look to the boy from the Water Tribe. "But Sokka, we can't just leave him here. What if he's being sincere?"

"That's not our problem. We have to go to Gaoling and find you an Earthbending master as quickly as possible. We can't have anyone slowing us down,"

The Ozuma glared at Sokka. "It wasn't my problem either when that swordsman was about to cut you down, yet I still saved you. Did you forget about that?"

Sokka opened his mouth to retort, but he found himself unable to come up with a decent counterargument. While he was not a genius in every conceivable way, Sokka was no idiot either. If Shujinko hadn't stepped in at the last second, he would've been done for and he knew it. His pride was the only thing that got hurt in the process, but other than that, he came out of the fight just fine and he had to thank Shujinko for that.

He still didn't quite buy the whole "I don't know where I am" act. It was simply too ridiculous to believe. Nevertheless, that didn't change the fact that Shujinko did save him, and he didn't know enough about Shujinko to label him as a bad guy. "Fine. He can come with us, but only for the time being," Sokka said after a while.

Aang smiled again. "So what do you say, Shujinko? Do you need a ride?"

The golden-eyed boy measured his options. On one hand, he didn't know who these people were or why were they being chased by the Fire Nation. Traveling with them would automatically make him a target by association. Getting involved in foreign conflicts without being directly ordered by the Hokage to do so was a huge no-no, and the consequences of doing so could be dire for him.

On the other hand, he had no idea where he was. He couldn't stay in Gi Yuin Village, that much was clear. Without a map or a companion from these lands, he would almost certainly get lost… even more lost than what he already was. These people were offering him a place in their group and the means of traveling these distant lands, lands that he knew nothing about. That, and there was also the fact that traveling alone was quite depressing.

It became evident that joining Aang, Sokka, and Katara was his best option, at least in the short run. It's not like he was joining the band forever, just as long as he had nowhere to go. As soon as he found a path to return to the Hidden Leaf Village, he would bid them farewell and be on his way. "Alright, I guess I'm coming with you guys. Thanks,"

"No problem. Now hop on and let's go. I have a feeling we're gonna have to camp these next few days, so you better be prepared,"

"Wait a minute," Shujinko said as he saw Katara and Sokka climbing up on Appa and taking a seat on the large saddle. "Are you telling me that we're gonna fly? How can Appa even fly? He doesn't even have wings!"

"Hey, if soaring through the skies on the back of a giant flying bison is beneath you, you can always try walking," Sokka offered sarcastically as he found a comfortable position to sit down. Gulping, Shujinko slowly approached Appa. Then, imitating the Water Tribe siblings, he grabbed a hold of Appa's fur and climbed up until he was sitting on the saddle.

Aang, who was sitting on top of Appa's head, nodded with a smile. "Here we go. Appa, yip yip!"

The Sky Bison crouched for a moment before taking flight. Shujinko's grip on the saddle became tighter and tighter as they drew further from the ground. His eyes adopted the size of dinner plates as he saw just how far away they were from where they once stood. Before long, Gi Yuin Village became a barely recognizable spot among trees and hills, reminding Shujinko just how minuscule and tiny human beings truly were, regardless of where they came from.

* * *

Flying was… exhilarating, to say the least.

At first, Shujinko felt a bit of panic. The highest altitude Shujinko had ever experienced was when he stared down at the houses of his village all the way from the Hokage Monument. However, after a short while, Shujinko realized that flying was by far the coolest thing he had ever experienced. Feeling the wind hitting his face as Appa carried them on his back and seeing the clouds from so up close was something almost impossible to put into words. The Ozuma wondered how many people back home have had the privilege of soaring through the skies like he was doing right now. It made him feel like a hawk.

Shujinko was too busy sightseeing to notice the stares he was getting from Sokka and Katara behind his back. The oldest of the siblings wasn't exactly thrilled to have Shujinko around, if anything because he wasn't quick to trust people. Aang was about the cheeriest, goofiest kid Sokka had ever come across, and even then Sokka didn't outright accept him when they first met, although the fact that he discovered Aang and Appa frozen alive inside a huge block of ice probably had something to do with it. He needed to know more about the lost traveler before he made up his mind about him, but in the meantime, Shujinko was someone he was going to keep an eye on for safety measures.

Katara had mixed feelings about the new member of the group. He didn't look like a bad guy per se, but there was just so much about him that she didn't know. Unlike Sokka, Katara was more open to the idea of Shujinko joining them even if it was only temporary. He had certainly proved that he was able to look after himself in terms of combat, which would come in handy the next time they encountered Fire Nation troops. However, what intrigued Katara the most was Shujinko's personal background. She did share her brother's opinion that the golden-eyed boy's story was hard to believe, but she was more open to the idea of listening to Shujinko than Sokka was.

As for Aang, he was the one who was less troubled by Shujinko's presence. Being raised by monks had taught him to assume the best out of those around him until their actions proved his assumptions otherwise, and so far, Shujinko had yet to give them trouble of any kind. As a matter of fact, he still remembered how Shujinko stopped that archer using that metal star thingy. Aang felt the duty to return the favor by offering him a ride with Appa, and he was glad that the brown-haired boy had accepted his offer.

Regarding Shujinko's claims about not knowing where he was or what had happened to him, the Avatar found himself relating to him. He knew very well what it was like to wake up surrounded by strangers somewhere other than your home, for that was exactly what happened to him when Sokka and Katara found him back in the South Pole. Considering he was frozen for a hundred years, it would be quite hypocritical of Aang to dismiss Shujinko's words as plain nonsense without at least learning more about him.

"Aang, I think we're safe here. Why don't we land near that river and set camp for the rest of the day? We can keep traveling tomorrow," Katara suggested. They had been flying for over half an hour and neither of the Water Tribe siblings had uttered a word due to the uncertainty that Shujinko caused them. As for the golden-eyed boy, he was so fascinated by Appa's flight that he forgot all of his questions.

Aang looked over his shoulder. "Are you sure? We haven't been flying for that long. I know Appa can continue. Isn't that right, Appa?" he asked. The Sky Bison roared in agreement.

"I second Katara's idea," Sokka said. "We need to fish for our dinner, and fishing can take a while. Besides, I need to wash my socks every now and then,"

Katara raised an eyebrow. "Every now and then? Does every now and then means every couple of months to you? Because I can't remember the last time you washed any of your clothes, Sokka,"

"Hey, I'll have you know that questionable hygiene is a common trait amongst geniuses, along with a taste for meat and high levels of sarcasm. I guess you wouldn't know about it,"

"Genius or not, you shouldn't have your clothes smell when you're out in the open, Sokka," Shujinko said, not taking his eyes away from the clouds. "It's not a good idea to give the people you want to avoid a chance to find you,"

Sokka snorted. "Right, I'll try and keep that in mind. What do you know about camping anyways, new guy?"

The Ozuma was starting to get irritated by Sokka's attitude. For whatever reason, the boy with the ponytail disapproved of him, or at the very least he didn't trust him. Shujinko could understand that. However, there was a difference between not trusting someone and acting hostile towards someone, a difference Sokka had yet to recognize.

Not feeling like losing his temper, Shujinko answered nonchalantly. "What do I know about camping? Probably enough to give you advise. I've slept outdoors on more occasions than I can count, so I know what I'm talking about,"

Appa began to descend from the skies, much to Shujinko's disappointment. Flying turned out to be a one of a kind experience. Being able to jump incredibly far and high paled against the sensation that was soaring through the skies, and the Ozuma hoped their next ride on Appa would come soon. Eventually, Appa found a clearing near the river and landed swiftly, or at least as swiftly as a giant bison could.

The four travelers hopped off of Appa, and Shujinko immediately took in his surroundings. It wasn't a bad place to set camp, although he would've preferred to find a more secluded area. Of course, that wasn't going to happen since Appa was with them. The Sky Bison would require a space large enough to feel comfortable, and unless they happened to stumble across a cave or something, it would be pointless to try and find a place to hide such a big creature.

"Okay, here we are," Aang announced as he helped Katara and Sokka with their bags. "I guess we should start setting up our little camp before it gets dark,"

"How long have you guys been traveling together?" Shujinko asked.

The monk slightly scrunched his nose in deep thought. "I'm not sure, a couple of months now. I haven't really kept track of time,"

Shujinko nodded in understanding. "If that's the case, I suppose that you three have all established your roles by now, right?"

"Roles?"

"Yes, roles. You know, who's in charge of doing what. Splitting the chores is more efficient than doing all of them collectively, after all," Shujinko said as a matter of fact. It may have sounded obvious, but knowing who was supposed to perform which task was fundamental when setting up camp in the shinobi lands. After all his time learning from Kakashi, Shujinko became even more methodical than before and didn't like it when things were out of order or disorganized.

"Well, usually I'm the one who gathers wood for the fire and prepares our meals," Katara explained as she left her bag on the ground. "Meanwhile, Sokka goes out and brings all the food he can get his hands on and Aang stays here and raises our tents. It's been working pretty well for us since we started traveling,"

The Chunin nodded in understanding. "That's good, but which one of you scouts the perimeter in search of predators that may be nearby? And who's in charge of erasing your tracks so that no one follows you?"

Aang, Sokka, and Katara shared a confused look between themselves. "We… don't really do any of that stuff. We just camp and that's it," Aang said tentatively.

'How are these three still alive?' Shujinko thought, his eyes slightly narrowed. Even if there were no other ninjas in the land, skipping through the processes of searching the area for possible dangers and erasing one's tracks was irresponsible at best when taking into account that they were being chased by soldiers. It was a relief to know that the Fire Nation was incompetent when it came to tracking people down, otherwise, Aang and the siblings would've probably gotten themselves captured a long time ago. "Well, let's not waste any more time. Sokka and Katara can go do their respective tasks while I stay here with Aang and help him set up our camp,"

"You don't really think we're gonna let you stay with Aang where we can't see you, right?" Sokka asked, raising an eyebrow.

Instead of getting angry at Sokka's suspicion, Shujinko found himself feeling glad that the boy with the boomerang had some degree of skepticism. It was annoying, yes, but at least it proved that Sokka had a brain and that he was clever enough to avoid placing his trust in strangers right away. Being a shinobi, Shujinko could relate to that sense of perceptiveness. He was going to have to earn their trust first.

Shujinko smirked as he came up with an idea. "Actually, there's a way I can be with all of you at the same time. That way, you won't have to worry about me being up to something,"

This perked Sokka's curiosity. "There is? What way is that?"

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

POOF

POOF

Two identical copies of Shujinko appeared in a cloud of smoke at the same time.

The group reaction was quite amusing. Aang was so surprised that he dropped the sleeping bags he was carrying, gasping loud and clear. Katara let out a short shriek and covered her mouth using both her hands, absolutely shocked by what she had just witnessed. As for Sokka, he began to rub his eyes furiously as he sputtered incoherent phrases, which were still more coherent than the fact that the boy in front of him had literally just replicated himself as if it were nothing.

"There we go, this should help speed things up," Shujinko placed his hand on one of his clone's shoulder. "You go with Sokka and help him bring enough food for all of us," he said before placing his other hand on the shoulder of the second clone. "As for you, go with Katara and make sure there are no threats surrounding the area. Are we clear?"

"Understood. This won't take long,"

"You got it, boss,"

"Okay, this settles it. I have officially gone insane," Sokka declared as he saw one of the clones walking towards him. "Geniuses often lose their minds. It was bound to happen to me sooner or later,"

"H-H-How did you… How did you do that?" Katara asked, her eyes threatening to pop out of their places. She took a step back out of fear when one of Shujinko's clones got close to her, earning herself a curious stare from the doppelganger.

"Don't be afraid. They're shadow clones. I created them using Ninjutsu, an ability that is known only by us ninjas," Shujinko tried to explain. He could understand why they were so bewildered. Back home, even civilians who knew about ninjas and their "magical powers" would often be amazed by the incredible things they could do. Aang, Sokka, and Katara weren't even aware of the existence of ninjas up until now, so it was obvious that seeing him perform the Shadow Clone Jutsu would shock them.

"This is amazing!" Aang said in awe. The boy with the blue tattoos was the least freaked out by Shujinko's shadow clones, although he was just as impressed as the Water Tribe siblings were. "I didn't know this was possible. You can make clones of yourself, Shujinko! How did you do it? What's Ninjutsu? And what's a ninja?"

The Ozuma scratched his cheek as he thought of ways to explain to them who he was and what his abilities were. Describing Ninjutsu and everything it entailed wasn't extremely difficult, but it did take time, and since Aang, Sokka and Katara knew nothing about the Elemental Nations, he was going to have to bring up other relatable subjects such as how the Hidden Leaf Village worked and the history behind its foundation. "Explaining all of this is going to take a while, so let's make a deal. Once we set up camp and everyone has gathered, we can ask questions back and forth and clear this whole thing out. I have a few doubts of my own regarding you and this weird place,"

Katara and Sokka stared at each other in silence, unable to come up with an objection. Shujinko's clones were waiting for them with expectant looks on their faces, wondering what was taking them so long. Still unnerved by what had just happened, both siblings kept their words to themselves and silently followed the clones into the forest.

Shujinko stretched his neck before tossing a sleeping bag to Aang. "Alright, let's get this camp started,"

* * *

"… You know, even if I'm a clone, we can still have a conversation. We're gathering wood, not hunting,"

The words that came out of the clone's mouth took Katara by surprise. Unlike the clone, who had managed to get his hands on a decent amount of sticks and dried moss, Katara had barely gathered any, having spent most of her time glancing at Shujinko's doppelganger from behind. "

Yeah, well, I don't know about you, but from where I come from, people don't just… do whatever it is that Shujinko did back there," she replied before opening her leather pouch and refilling its content drawing water from a puddle through the use of her bending. "I still don't understand how any of this is possible,"

Clone Shujinko cocked an eyebrow. "I can say the same thing about you. I've never seen someone control water the way you do. It almost looks like magic,"

"It's not magic, it's Waterbending," Katara said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. She then remembered how Shujinko allegedly came from a place so far away that it didn't even show on a map of the Four Nations, however crazy that seemed. "You've never heard of bending before?"

"Nope, although I can't say I've never seen anything like it. This Waterbending thing looks kind of similar to Water Release. That was why I thought you were a ninja when you first attacked me, because only ninjas have that sort of skills, along with many others,"

"… Oh," Katara muttered in a low tone, remembering how she tried to harm Shujinko back in Gi Yuin Village, all because of a misunderstanding. "I suppose I should apologize for that. It wasn't my intention. When you said you came from the Land of Fire, I was sure you were talking about the Fire Nation and things got out of hand. I'm sorry for what I did to you,"

Clone Shujinko grabbed a branch from a tree nearby and began to sway it back and forth until he pulled it out. "Do you believe me, then? That I'm not from this part of the world?" he asked before snapping the branch in two, throwing each half on the pile of sticks he had found so far.

The waterbender let out a sigh and sat on a fallen tree, looking quite conflicted with her thoughts. "I don't know. It's hard to believe that you come from such a distant place, and how you don't even remember how you got here. A part of me wants to think that you're lying, but I can't imagine a reason as to why would you lie about that. Besides, after watching what you're capable of doing, the idea that you're not from around here sounds less farfetched,"

There were hundreds of questions that remained unanswered. While Katara wasn't exactly a fervent believer of destiny, it was rather coincidental that Shujinko appeared right after the visions they experienced in the swamp. She had never seen someone fight they way Shujinko did back in Gi Yuin Village, jumping several feet into the air and moving faster than anyone Katara had ever laid her eyes own.

Words such as 'ninja', 'shinobi', and 'Ninjutsu' were also being mentioned. According to what the clone was saying, Shujinko was a ninja, although that didn't give her much information at all. Katara supposed it had to do something about Shujinko's less-than-common abilities, abilities that sparked quite a bit of intrigue within her. The only reason why Katara wasn't asking more about them was because they had agreed to set up camp first and leave the questions for later so that the brown-haired boy wouldn't have to repeat himself.

Then there was the fact that she was talking to a clone of the boy, which was just ludicrous.

Then again, ever since she and her brother had discovered Aang, the term 'ludicrous' had adopted a narrower meaning. Many would consider their adventures to be ludicrous, and yet they had happened. Who was to say this was going to be any different?

"In any case, I think we have enough wood. It's time to head back to the camp," Shujinko said as he picked up the necessary materials to start a fire. He then dumped half the sticks on Katara's laps, earning a questioning stare from the waterbender. "What? It wouldn't look good if you were the only one to return empty-handed,"

* * *

"… So you're an actual clone?"

"Yes,"

"And you can actually talk?"

"… Well, yeah,"

"Which means that I'm not insane and this is not some weird hallucination that I got from eating crab puffs?"

"I don't know what crab puffs are, Sokka, but I'm just as real as you are,"

"… No. I refuse to believe it. This nonsense has to be some kind of trick. I knew there was something off about those crab puffs. They must've had chopped mushrooms inside, the ones that mess with your head after you eat them. It's the only explanation,"

Clone Shujinko let out an exasperated sigh. Unlike Katara, who was doing her best to rationalize everything that was happening, Sokka was in denial. It was understandable, but at the same time, it was extremely obnoxious because of the way Sokka went about it. He would repeatedly ask questions, Clone Shujinko would answer them, and when the boy from the Water Tribe was about to give in, he would shake his head and reject the notion that this was happening. Had it not been for the fact that the will of shadow clones were intrinsically linked to the will of their caster, Clone Shujinko would've dispelled itself a long time ago.

"This is all just a dream, a vivid dream that's gone for way too long," Sokka assured himself. "When I wake up, I'll be flying on Appa's back with Aang and Katara, and I'll have learned my lesson: Never eat crab puffs ever aga- Ouch!" the boy with the boomerang yelped when Clone Shujinko punched his arm. "Hey, what was that for?"

"Did it hurt? Good. That means you're not dreaming," Clone Shujinko replied, having fed up with Sokka's rambling. "Look Sokka, I'm just as confused as you are. If I could, I would immediately go back to my village and leave you guys to your affairs, but I can't do that right now. We have to work together for the time being, and that includes finding food to fill our bellies. Well, I don't really have to eat since I'm a shadow clone, but I doubt the rest of you can say the same,"

The two of them soon found a river with plenty of game. Fishes would occasionally leap out of the water as they swam in shoals. Still muttering about 'stupid crab puffs' and whatnot, Sokka grabbed his fishing rod, applied some bait, and threw the bobber as far as he could. Dream or not, Sokka was hungry, and perhaps a big, juicy fish would help him clear his head.

While Sokka was fishing, Clone Shujinko searched the area for edible plants and herbs that could be used as a condiment for the main dish. Truth be told, there wasn't much of a purpose to what he was doing. He had no idea what herbs of this land were safe for consumption and what herbs weren't, but it was better than to sit there awkwardly and contribute nothing. Making oneself useful was a fundamental part of traveling in groups, regardless of where you were or what your next destination was.

After a while, Clone Shujinko came back to the spot where Sokka was fishing. He had already caught three small trouts and didn't seem to react to the shadow clone, who was carrying a basket full of herbs that were unknown to him. "Hey Sokka, could you tell me which of these plants we can use? They don't look like they're poisonous to me, but it's better to be safe than sorry,"

Sokka ignored the shadow clone and reeled the bobber back in as if nothing had happened.

If there was one thing that irritated Sokka to no end, it was being unable to make sense of something, or in this case, someone. The fellow who was currently standing behind his back made no sense. When they first saw Shujinko during their brief stay at Gi Yuin Village, Sokka knew there was something off about him, something that went beyond his strange clothes and the weird, nonexistent places that he spoke of. His instincts were, once again, proven right after the events that unfolded following the intervention of the Fire Nation soldiers.

Clone Shujinko frowned. "Hello, are you listening to me? I'm sorry to interrupt your fishing, but I kind of need your help here,"

With forced indifference, Sokka threw the hook back into the water, refusing to look over his shoulder.

Why? Why couldn't his life just be normal for longer than a month? Why did this kind of stuff always have to occur to him? Sokka believed he had won the 'things-that-could-only-happen-to-me' lottery back when he and his sister found the Avatar frozen alive inside an iceberg during a casual fishing trip. Then, all of a sudden, he found himself running away from the Fire Nation, venturing into the Spirit World, fighting with the Northern Water Tribe against an invasion, and dealing with the loss of Yue, his love interest, who went on to become the Moon Spirit. So yeah, it was safe to say that Sokka had quite an interesting life, probably more interesting than what he would've wanted anyway.

And now, right after experiencing visions of Yue back when he was at a magical swamp with Katara and Aang, a random stranger who was able to duplicate himself and perform gravity-defying acrobatics just _had _to join the group. Sure, why not? As if traveling with a twelve-year-old Avatar and the last waterbender of the Southern Water Tribe wasn't extravagant enough.

This time, Clone Shujinko huffed and turned around, having fed up with Sokka's attitude. "You know what? You can stay here and pretend that this isn't happening for all I care. I'm going back to the camp where I can talk to adults, not paranoid jerks like you,"

A paranoid jerk? He certainly was no paranoid. He was skeptical and cautious, which were different things. And hell, if he was indeed a paranoid, he had darn good reasons for being so after all he had gone through. As for being a jerk…

Clone Shujinko began to walk away, and Sokka felt a pang of guilt in his stomach. While it was true that what Shujinko had shown to be capable of so far was enough to overwhelm anyone's sense of reason and logic, it was also true that Shujinko hadn't done a single wrong to them. He didn't know him, and he didn't flat-out trust him either, but that didn't give Sokka the right to behave like a douchebag. Regardless of what his opinion on Shujinko was, there was no denying that he had been rude to him without a good excuse or motive, and Sokka knew he was better than that.

Swallowing his pride, Sokka pulled the bobber out of the water and stood up, leaving his fishing rod on the ground. "Wait," he called out, to which Shujinko stopped and stared back at him with a frown. Sokka took a deep breath before he began to speak. "Just hear me out for a second. I think we may have started off on the wrong foot…"

Clone Shujinko raised an eyebrow. "You don't say?" he asked sarcastically.

Sokka winced slightly, but didn't reply to that, as he knew he deserved it. "… And I admit I haven't been exactly friendly or open-minded towards you…"

"Good of you to notice,"

"… Anyways, what I'm trying to say is that… I apologize, okay? Seeing you do all that wacky stuff threw me off and I didn't know how to react, but I would like for us to start over if that's all right with you. My name is Sokka, son of Hakoda,"

Clone Shujinko's facial features softened. Despite only being a shadow clone, he wasn't a mindless entity completely deprived of human emotions. Quite the contrary, he was a sentient being, aware of other people's feelings. He had the same set of values as the original Shujinko, as well as his personality, meaning that he would do whatever Shujinko would've done in his position unless the caster of the jutsu ordered otherwise.

While Sokka might have acted with some hostility, Clone Shujinko understood where he was coming from. The boy from the Southern Water Tribe genuinely looked like he wanted to make amends. Clone Shujinko could at least appreciate the fact that Sokka had what it took to realize his own mistakes and apologize for them like a man, and to be fair, Sokka hadn't done anything that deserved a grudge from Shujinko's part. In the end, forgiving the guy and moving on was the obvious choice.

'Oh, what the hell,' Clone Shujinko thought before shaking hands with Sokka. "Shujinko Ozuma, son of… well, Daichi Ozuma," he added that last bit with some uncertainty. It wasn't common to say whose man's son you were when being introduced to someone, at least back in the Hidden Leaf Village.

Just like Katara, Sokka was surprised to know that Shujinko had a last name. Most if not all those who had a family last name were either nobility or considerably wealthy. Even members of families that were no longer relevant still upheld their last name as a way of honoring their ancestry and maintaining whatever remaining social status they had. Shujinko didn't look like he belonged to either of those categories, but Sokka decided not to call him out on that, at least for now.

"So, now that we have that out of the way, how about we start our new friendship by telling me which herbs can we use and which not?" Clone Shujinko asked as he lifted the basket off the ground.

"Herbs? What herbs? Those are just ordinary plants. You can't add them to a stew unless you want to get sick to the stomach," Sokka pointed out.

Clone Shujinko blinked once… twice… thrice… "You mean to tell me that I wasted more than half an hour wandering around and collecting useless plants?"

"… Well, yeah. Pretty much. I thought you said you were a camping expert?"

"Don't get cheeky with me, Sokka. One more joke and one of these plants might just find its way inside your bowl,"

After a minute of silence, both teens began to chuckle. Nothing like a bit of good-natured banter to start befriending the magical boy who came from Spirits knew where. Ah, the beauty and simplicity of being boys.

* * *

"Alright, I guess we're done here," Shujinko announced as he dusted his hands off. The tents had been raised properly, the perimeter had been secured, and with the help of Aang, they were able to find enough rocks to make a small and rudimentary fire pit that would suit their needs. Since he was in a foreign land, Shujinko wanted to avoid being careless and took every safety measure he could think of, going as far as hiding explosive tags beneath the dirt that would go off the moment he transmitted chakra into them. He did this while Aang wasn't paying attention, for he had neither the time nor the patience to explain how explosive tags worked. In any case, they were meant to be used as a distraction should a group of bandits or Fire Nation soldiers catch them off guard and attack them in the middle of the night.

Working with Aang turned out to be a lot easier than what Shujinko anticipated. The kid was a bit of a goofball and he sure was talkative, but he was also quite optimistic and he followed his instructions as long as Shujinko provided an explanation for them. The only thing about Aang that slightly bothered Shujinko was his insistence on asking questions regarding his abilities. It was completely understandable, but the Ozuma explained time and time again that he would have to wait until everyone had gathered before they could sit down and have a talk.

"Do you think Sokka and Katara are doing alright?" Aang asked as he scratched Appa's ear. "Shouldn't we go see if they're okay?"

"They're fine. I left them with my shadow clones, so I very much doubt anything will happen to them. Besides, if they were facing any kind of danger, I would've known by now," Shujinko replied. In the event that one of his shadow clones disappeared, their knowledge would transfer back to him, which was basically the same as raising a mental alarm.

"You would know? How?"

"For now, let's just say it's a neat little trick that I have. You can ask me about it later,"

Aang pouted. He was sick of hearing the same excuse over and over again. He couldn't wait until Katara and Sokka arrived so they could ask the thousand questions they had in store for him. As proven when he first attempted to learn Firebending under the guidance of Jeong Jeong, patience was a virtue Aang had yet to fully develop, although anyone in his position would be dying to know more about Shujinko.

A couple of minutes later, Sokka and Katara returned from their activities, followed closely by Shujinko's shadow clones. Katara and the shadow clone that joined her managed to bring enough sticks and branches to start a fire while Sokka carried a basket with a total of six trouts in it, two for each head. He didn't take Aang into account due to the fact that the bald kid was a vegetarian and refused to eat meat of any kind, and since they had bought enough monk-friendly food back in Gi Yuin Village, there was nothing to worry about.

After the shadow clones had started a fire, Shujinko proceeded to dispel them, gaining their memories and startling everyone around him yet again. Once the new memories had settled in, Shujinko was pleased with what his shadow clones managed to accomplish on his behalf. Katara was now more open to the idea of him belonging to a different part of the world and he was now in amicable terms with Sokka. After eight months of training under Kakashi's tutelage, Shujinko had grown accustomed to the after-effects of the Shadow Clone Jutsu and no longer suffered a headache every time his brain received the neurological discharge of information provided by the clones, although he made sure never to overstep his boundaries with that technique.

Shujinko then found himself at the receiving end of three very demanding stares. He stretched his back, took a deep breath, and prepared himself for the inevitable. "It'll probably take a while for the fire to heat up the cooking pot. I suppose there's enough time to answer some of your questions. Alright then, ask away,"

"How can you make clones of yourself?" Sokka asked first, that being the most obvious question that was going to get thrown to Shujinko.

Katara followed right after her brother. "What's a shinobi? And what's Ninjutsu?"

"How can you run so fast and jump so high?" Aang then asked.

"Why do you wear that thing around your forehead?

"What other cool tricks do you have?"

It was like a verbal bomb going off. The three of them asked so many questions in such rapid succession that, from Shujinko's perspective, they might as well be speaking gibberish. It got to the point where he lost his patience and was forced to raise his hands in an appeasing manner, finally stopping the merciless barrage of questions he was being subjected to. "Look, this isn't going to work if I can't understand half the things you're saying. It's probably better if I just explain who I am and where I come from. Hopefully, that will answer all of your doubts, and if not, please wait until I'm done. So, do I have your attention?"

Three affirmative nods were his answer. He gestured them to take a seat, and the four of them sat around the fire, enjoying the heat it provided.

"I suppose I should begin with who I am. As you already know, my name is Shujinko Ozuma, and I am a shinobi from the Hidden Leaf Village…"

* * *

"… Sho, le meh gesh thish straigh," Sokka said before gulping down a mouthful of grilled fish. He was the only one besides Shujinko who was eating with gusto. Aang and Katara had barely taken a bite from their food, having spent their time listening intently to what the brown-haired boy had to say. "You're a soldier who comes from a village called the 'Hidden Leaf' that resides in a place called the 'Land of Fire', but that it's different from the Fire Nation. In that village, soldiers like you are called 'ninja' and you are trained to use 'chakra' in order to perform 'Ninjutsu'. Is that it or did I miss some other wacky term?"

"That's an overly-simplified version, but essentially yes," Shujinko responded. It wasn't until dinner was ready that he realized just how hungry he was, having skipped breakfast and lunch. He wolfed down the first fish and ate the second more calmly. He was now enjoying a soup that contained vegetables and small pieces of bread.

After receiving a general rundown of the history of the Hidden Leaf Village and the role ninjas had in their society, the three teens were left with different opinions and drew their own conclusions. Sokka had this vision about the Hidden Leaf Village being a large tribe where mighty warriors such as the ones he inspired to become were born, raised and trained for the sake of their people. He had to admit that the idea of a militarized village, organized and efficient, had some appeal to it. It seemed like the kind of place he would fit in.

Katara didn't share her brother's enthusiasm. The idea of a village having to use young adolescents to do the work of grown-ups was upsetting, especially considering how dangerous some of that work was. She could understand doing tasks such as picking up trash and fixing someone's garden, but deliberately sending kids that were of her age or even younger to protect a merchant from bandits or outlaws was not only wrong, but terribly irresponsible as well. It was true that she had experienced her fair share of dangerous encounters with the Fire Nation ever since she chose to follow Aang, but she endured all of those dangers because she wanted to put an end to a vicious war that had destroyed countless lives, not because some village had ordered her to do it for the sake of making money.

Aang wasn't so sure how to feel about the shinobi world Shujinko belonged to. On one hand, it was nice to know that there wasn't an evil country such as the Fire Nation that had waged war for years in an attempt to conquer the rest of the world. Shinobi villages such as the so-called Hidden Leaf and its counterparts occupied a tiny space of land inside the country they were in, and none of those villages tried to rule the rest of their nation. They were instead autonomous and independent to a reasonable degree. On the other hand, from what Shujinko had said, the shinobi villages didn't seem to coexist in peace and harmony. They were constantly competing against one another, and the only thing that prevented them from starting a full-blown military conflict was a fragile armistice that could disappear at a moment's notice.

"In any case, I think I've earned the right to ask some questions of my own," Shujinko stated as he left his empty bowl on the ground. "For starters, I want to know about this war that's been going on and why is Aang being chased by the Fire Nation. If I remember correctly, you're the reason why those soldiers came to Gi Yuin Village in the first place,"

Aang and the Water Tribe siblings shared a look. It felt weird to explain something that was well known pretty much by everyone. Feeling like perhaps she was the best suited for the job, Katara spoke first. "A hundred years ago, the Fire Nation declared war against the three other nations of the world: The Earth Kingdom, the Northern and Southern Water Tribes, and the Air Nomads. Fire Lord Ozai, the man who rules the Fire Nation, won't stop until every inch of land becomes part of his domain, and he will confront anyone who tries to oppose him,"

The eyes of the Chunin widened considerably. A hundred years of uninterrupted war against the world? Shujinko couldn't fathom something like that ever happening in the shinobi continent. Not even the combined years of all three Shinobi World Wars came close to that number. If two shinobi villages were set to fight against one another, one of them would either arrange a peace treaty or become annihilated after a prolonged period of time, but it was simply impossible for a country to wage war for that long without eventually destroying itself.

"And what kind of threat does Aang represents to the Fire Lord? What has he done to make him angry?"

"It's not because of what I have or haven't done. It's because of who I am," Aang said with a sober attitude that didn't seem to belong to the cheerful twelve-year-old that he was. "I'm the Avatar, the living bridge between the Spirit World and the Human World, and the only person who can stop the Fire Lord from conquering it all. It has always been the duty of the Avatar to maintain peace and balance, which is why I have to defeat the Fire Nation before it's too late,"

"… Defeat the Fire Nation? But you're just a boy. What makes you think that you have to do that just because you're the Avatar? What does it even means being an Avatar?" Shujinko asked. He couldn't come up with a feasible reason as to why a kid would take it upon himself to end a war that has lasted for a century.

"The monks told me that the Avatar is an individual who is reincarnated throughout time in what is known as the Avatar Cycle. It's a bit confusing, but I share the same spirit as many people from the past, and they all had the same task of leading the world towards an era of peace. To do that, the Avatar has to master all four elements, being the only individual capable of doing so, and search for the answers that will put an end to whatever conflict that arises. That's why the Fire Lord is after me, because he knows I'm the only one who's powerful enough to ruin his evil plans,"

Once again, Shujinko's head started spinning. The idea of a spirit constantly reincarnating in the body of humans for the sake of keeping the world peaceful and balanced seemed to belong to an idealistic fairy tale more than anything. Back home, such a story would be met with extreme skepticism if not downright distrust by adults, even when taking into consideration the number of myths and legends that were still being told in the Land of Fire.

Not even the tale of Karura, the hawk spirit that merged with Kazemaru Ozuma, was this exaggerated. According to Shujinko's father, Karura decided to fuse herself with a human whom she had deemed worthy so that his descendants would uphold her legacy and remember her existence, and thus the Ozuma clan was born along with the Karura Tensei, their Kekkei Genkai. That story had always filled Shujinko with suspicion, especially because the Ozuma clan had been destroyed before he was born, and so he would never get the chance to speak with someone from his clan other than his father, who was raised as an outcast and married an outsider.

However, that legend couldn't compare itself to what Aang was telling him… and the worst thing about it was that, as far as Shujinko was concerned, Aang being truthful. How was he supposed to deny the existence of the Avatar after all he had witnessed so far? He was in a part of the world he didn't even know it existed until today, and he couldn't remember how he got there. Besides, the same way Aang and his friends had no reason to believe Shujinko was lying about his background, he had no reason to believe the bald kid with blue tattoos was lying to him about the Avatar Cycle.

"So the Fire Lord is after you because he fears you will be able to defeat him one day. I suppose that's why the three of you are traveling around the world, to avoid getting caught," Shujinko said, not really knowing what to make of his situation.

"That's correct, but that's not the only reason," Sokka replied. "Aang has to master the four elements before he can go up against the Fire Lord, and we don't have a whole lot of time on our hands. There's a comet on its way here, and when that comet arrives, it'll give firebenders an enormous power boost, which is exactly what they need to take over the world for good. We can't allow that to happen, so we have to end the war before the Fire Nation has a chance to strike. Aang already knows Airbending and Katara is teaching him Waterbending, but he hasn't learned Earthbending or Firebending yet. We're hoping to find an Earthbending teacher for him in the town of Gaoling,"

Out of all the things Shujinko wanted to avoid, having to deal with a foreign war was pretty high up the list. It wasn't necessarily out of fear, though he would be a fool not to fear war, but rather because he had no business being there. His loyalty as a shinobi belonged to the Hidden Leaf Village, and he had to return there as soon as possible.

"That's all very well and good. So what's next?" Shujinko asked.

Katara raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"

"You guys are fighting a war, and I wish you nothing but the best of luck, but I have to return to where I belong. My village is my home, and I can't abandon it. It doesn't matter how long it takes, I have to find a way to the Hidden Leaf Village,"

"Well, if it doesn't matter how long it takes…" Aang began to say. "… how about you join our group?"

The Ozuma blinked. "Come again?"

"Think about it. You have nowhere else to go in the meantime, and if you wander around on your own, you could easily get lost. But if you come with us, we could help you find your way back home as we travel. Besides, we saw what you are capable of when those soldiers appeared back in Gi Yuin Village. You were awesome! We could definitely use your help the next time we come across another group of soldiers from the Fire Nation. Katara, Sokka, what do you guys think?"

"I'm not sure, Aang. This all seems a bit rushed to me," Katara replied. She briefly examined Shujinko, the boy whom she originally mistook for a Fire Nation soldier. She didn't know whether if allowing him to come with them was the right choice or not. However, Katara couldn't deny that their encounter with Shujinko had a taste of fate to it, like they were meant to meet him for a reason. There was that, and there was also the fact that leaving behind a poor guy who didn't know his way home was too cruel for her gentle heart. "But if you believe this is a good idea, then I don't see why not,"

The stares of Aang and Katara fell on Sokka, the last member of the group. Rubbing his chin, he began to consider the pros and cons of adding Shujinko to the crew. Despite knowing practically nothing about, well, anything, Shujinko was still a valuable asset. He seemed like a skilled warrior (or shinobi, as Shujinko called it) who could handle himself, and his freaky Ninjutsu abilities made him pretty much unique. In the worst-case scenario, it was objectively better to have him on their team rather than against them, and besides, he would no longer be the only non-bender of the bunch. "Fine, he can join us as long as he remembers that I'm the leader here, so no goofing around,"

While this was going on, Momo appeared from behind and climbed up Shujinko's back. Once he was on top of his shoulder, Momo brushed his face against the Chunin's cheek as a sign of affection. The lemur hadn't forgotten how Shujinko had saved him from the Cat Deer earlier that day.

Aang chuckled at this. "See? Even Momo likes you. So, what do you say, Shujinko?"

The golden-eyed boy realized he really didn't have much of a choice. He had no idea how he was supposed to return to the Hidden Leaf Village, but he was confident he was going to find a way. After all, if he managed to arrive here somehow, then logically there had to be a route he could trace back. He didn't want to wander around this strange world alone and without a sense of direction. With these guys, he had a real chance, an actual possibility of returning home.

He was aware that getting involved in a war was going to be risky, to say the least. If he had to make an educated guess, this would count as an A-class mission, or maybe even an S-class one, but Shujinko was no stranger to the face of danger. He had risked his life before, and even came close to dying during his fight against Umanosuke, one of Orochimaru's henchmen. Shujinko highly doubted he would find an opponent of that caliber here, considering that he was the only shinobi alive roaming these foreign lands, although that remained to be seen.

With all of that in mind, Shujinko finally gave them his answer.

"Very well. You can count me in. Until I find a way to go back to my village, you can consider me your partner,"

* * *

Aaaaaaaaand that was chapter 3. Hope you all liked it.

So let me address something here: I'm fully aware there's not a whole lot of action in this chapter, if any. It was pretty much characters talking all the time. It's not very entertaining, but I believe it is essential for a story to have important dialogues that set up its context. As a reader, you already know how the world of Avatar works, but Shujinko comes from a completely different place, and he needs to know what is going on. Therefore, it would be out of character for him to accept what's going on without asking questions. It was probably a "boring" chapter, but in my opinion, it was a necessary chapter as well.

In any case, most of the context is already laid out for Shujinko. The next chapters will have more action and funnier moments, as well as more parallels between the Avatar world and the Naruto world. I'm mainly interested in displaying Shujinko's thoughts and reactions since he's the main protagonist (in a way, at least), but I also want to show how the characters from the Avatar world view Shujinko, as well as the moral and philosophical discussions that will arise due to Shujinko's presence, life experiences, and his general outlook on the world,

Don't forget to Review, Favorite & Follow

Peace!


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4: WIND OF THE PAST AND THE PRESENT**

(Disclaimer: Avatar The Last Airbender belongs to Nickelodeon and Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. I only own my OC's)

(PLEASE READ: THIS IS NOT A SEQUEL TO "SHUJINKO: THE FOURTH MEMBER", BUT A DIFFERENT STORY WITH SHUJINKO AS THE MAIN CHARACTER. THIS STORY WILL NOT HAVE ANY EFFECT WHATSOEVER IN "SHUJINKO SHIPPUDEN". I REPEAT, THIS IS NOT A SEQUEL TO SHUJINKO'S ORIGINAL STORY)

Summary: One night, a stranger breaks into Shujinko's house and tries to steal one of the most mystical objects in the history of the Ozuma clan: The Eye of Kazemaru. When Shujinko tries to stop him, the two of them activate an ancient and forgotten power of the gem by accident, which sends them to another dimension where a certain bald-headed monk has to master the four elements in order to defeat the evil Fire Lord. What kind of impact will Shujinko's presence have in the Avatar universe? Who is this stranger and what does he want? Get ready for one wild space-time adventure

* * *

"… _Remarkable. Truly remarkable. To think that the blood of the Ozuma clan flows through your veins…"_

…

"_Tell me, child. Who are your parents? Where do they hail from?"_

…

* * *

Shujinko groaned as his body shivered. The coldness of the morning had woken him up. With gritted teeth and groggy eyes, he removed the blankets that covered his body and stood up on Appa's saddle.

It turns out that Team Avatar had only brought two tents for their journey. Aang and Sokka slept in one while Katara slept in the other one alone, allowing her to enjoy the privacy that a girl needed. Shujinko couldn't sleep in the boys' tent since there wasn't enough space for the three of them and he wasn't about to ask Katara to share her tent with him. It would've been possible for Shujinko to sleep in the same tent as Aang and have the Water Tribe siblings share space together, but the brown-haired boy didn't want to cause them any inconveniences, so he accepted some spare blankets and slept on Appa's back out in the open.

'Looks like I'm the only one awake,' Shujinko thought. He didn't have much of a restful sleep last night. Never mind the fact that he was sleeping on the back of a giant, horned, six-legged creature capable of flight, he had also experienced this weird dream… Was it even a dream?

It didn't quite felt like one. It was more of a strange flashback of something he couldn't recall for certain. In his dream, he heard someone saying how surprised he was to see a member of the Ozuma clan before asking him about his parents, followed by a blinding flare of light. It didn't make much sense, but Shujinko supposed dreams weren't meant to make sense. Even so, he couldn't shake off the feeling that he had heard that voice somewhere before.

After stretching his limbs, Shujinko jumped down and decided to start his morning properly by cleaning himself up a bit. His body and his clothes were both relatively clean, but he wanted to feel fresh for the rest of the day, or at least for as long as possible, in case he and his new group of traveling companions found themselves in an unpleasant situation.

Using the insight given to him by one of the shadow clones he created yesterday, the Chunin made his way to the river where Sokka caught their dinner from last night, leaving his vest and his headband at the camp. Once he got there, he touched the water with his fingertips and was pleased to find out how cold it was. Taking a deep breath, Shujinko submerged his head into the water after removing his shirt and his wristbands/warmers. The freezing temperature of the water felt like a slap to the face and Shujinko quickly lifted his head, gasping.

His skin quickly went numb. Using cold water to wake yourself up was a rough way to start the morning, but it sure was effective. He no longer felt drowsy or lightheaded. After rubbing his face and hair, Shujinko proceeded to wash his neck, chest, shoulders, and armpits, getting rid of the dried sweat and the unpleasant sensation that came with sleeping with your day clothes on. Since he didn't have a towel at hand, the Ozuma decided not to take a full bath and instead waited for the water on his body to naturally dry off using what little sunlight was present.

Unfortunately, now that his mind was clear, it was unavoidable for Shujinko to think about where he was and what was going on. By agreeing to travel with Aang, Sokka, and Katara, he got himself involved in a war that was not his to fight. Aang was the main target of the Fire Nation, and from what he had gathered so far, the so-called Fire Lord Ozai would stop at nothing until the Avatar was destroyed and the rest of the world was conquered.

Shujinko wanted no part in any of this. His agreement with Aang was very clear: He would help the Avatar and the Water Tribe siblings fight against the Fire Nation in the meantime and leave this strange part of the world to its own affairs as soon as he had the chance to return back home. Aang, Sokka, and Katara all looked like decent and well-intended people, and Shujinko hoped they would someday receive the happy ending they deserved, but he was a shinobi of the Hidden Leaf, and his village, his family, and his friends were more important to him than whatever military conflict this foreign land was experiencing.

That was why he couldn't, or rather shouldn't, befriend them. He didn't belong here, and regardless of the events that led him to where he currently was, staying on this part of the world simply wasn't an option. Shujinko was willing to protect Aang, Sokka, and Katara, but his partnership with them would come to an end as soon as he had the means to return to the Hidden Leaf Village. Each of them had their own path to follow, but not every path lead to the same place, and the golden-eyed boy knew very well which path was his to take.

That did not mean, however, that Shujinko was going to portray himself as someone he wasn't. He couldn't bring himself to be cold or uncaring towards them as it simply wasn't in his nature to behave like that. The bald monk, the waterbender, and the guy with the funny ponytail were all willing to help him, and so he was going to help them out in return. They were in this together, and until the proper opportunity to sail back home came knocking on the door, Shujinko would stick with them and help them reach their goal.

After putting his shirt and wristbands back on, Shujinko returned to the camp, where the rest of the group was still sleeping. The bonfire from yesterday was now a pile of ashes on the ground. Sleeping next to the fire would've provided Shujinko a much warmer night, but it was never a good idea to allow a bonfire to go unwatched in the middle of the night, which was why Shujinko had decided to put it out before going to sleep.

"Wind Style: Breakthrough," Shujinko whispered after weaving the Dog, Horse, and Bird hand signs, pushing a strong breeze that blew the ashes away. Once the spot was clean, the Ozuma grabbed some dried moss and a couple of sticks that had been left untouched from the other night. He patiently rubbed two stones together until a bunch of sparks landed on the moss, and after going at it for a while, he managed to produce a small fire that warmed his cold hands. "Alright, time for some breakfast,"

* * *

"What's that smell?" Sokka asked, poking his head out of the tent. He was surprised to find Shujinko sitting in front of a fire, using a wooden spoon to stir the content inside a cooking pot. "What are you doing?"

"Morning, Sokka. Since I woke up earlier than you guys, I thought I might as well prepare our breakfast. It should be ready in a couple of minutes,"

"… Oh. Thanks, I guess," Sokka replied as he stepped out of the tent, looking slightly uncertain. He wasn't expecting the new guy to go through the trouble of cooking breakfast without having to be asked. It looked like Shujinko had a lot more initiative than what Sokka first thought.

Once the cooking process was over, Sokka woke Aang and Katara up and announced that the first meal of the day was ready. They all brought bowls and spoons and sat around the fire, eager to fill their bellies. "I can't believe you actually got up first to cook us breakfast, Sokka," Katara commented. Since she had just woken up, she was wearing her hair loose instead of sporting her usual braids. "Are you feeling alright? This isn't like you at all,"

"Yeah, you can tell us if there's something wrong," Aang seconded, a hint of concern in his voice.

"What? No, there's nothing wrong with me. I didn't make breakfast, it was Shujinko. I just woke you up so you could have some, that's all,"

Both teens stared at Shujinko, who merely shrugged his shoulders before filling their bowls with some of the stew. "It's no big deal. Since I was the first one to wake up, I thought I might as well make myself useful,"

Aang's face brightened considerably. "Whew, that's good to hear. I was starting to think that Sokka was feeling sick or something. Thanks for making breakfast, Shujinko. You didn't have to bother,"

Katara was also pleased to find out that Shujinko had gone out of his way to help them get the day starting, especially since it usually fell on her to prepare the meals. She took it as a sign of Shujinko's willingness to fit into the group despite being an outsider from faraway lands. Maybe letting him join the gang wasn't such a bad idea after all.

"Like I just said, it's no big deal. And besides, I didn't want yesterday's leftovers to go to waste, so making a stew was the best idea I could come up with. I hope you enjoy it,"

While on missions, Shujinko usually brought supplies that could be eaten without having to cook them, such as ration bars and beef jerky. However, after spending time with his sensei, he realized that he couldn't always rely on that kind of food and that he needed to learn how to feed himself from the land in case he needed to. This included knowing how to catch a fish, how to set up hunting traps, and most importantly, how to cook.

The Ozuma once had the pleasure of sharing a mission with Kosuke, an old shinobi from the Hidden Leaf Village who was a Jounin in everything but in rank, as he chose to stay a Genin for the rest of his career despite having the experience and the skills to accept the promotion. His cooking skills were part of his arsenal, which despite not sounding very impressive on the battlefield, they sure were convenient when you had an empty stomach. With only a few ingredients, Kosuke could prepare delicious meals that kept his team well fed. Shujinko decided to imitate the old Genin and started to learn the basics of the culinary arts.

His results were… not entirely satisfactory.

"It… sure is easy to swallow," Aang commented after giving Shujinko's stew a try. It's not that it had a bad taste; it was that it barely had any. The ingredients had been left in boiling water for too long, so now the stew had lost nearly all of its flavor, becoming little more than hot baby food. The same thought crossed the minds of Sokka and Katara, who still ate the stew nonetheless to avoid being rude to Shujinko's efforts.

During the middle of some idle chit chat, Appa suddenly walked up to them and let out a short grunt, having sensed the smell of food all the way from his sleeping spot. Since nobody looked like they were up for a second serving, Katara used her bending abilities to turn the rest of the stew into a levitating blob of liquid with the remaining ingredients inside before offering it to Appa, who slurped all of it on one go.

Shujinko saw all of this and was amazed by how easily Katara was able to control water. It was hard to describe, but waterbenders such as Katara seemed to have a different, more natural control over said element than Water Release users did. Sure, a ninja could use Elemental Ninjutsu such as Water Release for offensive or defensive purposes, but there was an important difference between being able to attack or defend yourself with water and being able to control water to the point where you could do basically anything with it.

"So, what's our next move?" Shujinko asked. "Sokka, you mentioned something about a city we needed to go to. What was its name again?"

The boy with the boomerang, who was casually removing the wax out of his ear with his pinky finger, stood up and stretched his arms. "Gaoling. It's gonna take us about a week to get there, maybe one or two days less if we don't waste our time,"

Shujinko nodded. The city of Gaoling was a far more developed place than the Gi Yuin Village, at least according to what little he knew. It was going to be easier to find more information about this place of the world there, and with a bit of luck, maybe he could find a ship that sailed to the Elemental Nations if Gaoling happened to be located next to the coast. "Then we should hit the road right away. If the Fire Nation is chasing after us, it's not safe to remain in one place for too long. Come on, let's pack up,"

"Do we really have to leave this early?" Aang asked with a slight pout. "I don't think the Fire Nation is gonna find us here. It's a really dense forest, and we're miles away from Gi Yuin Village,"

"Besides, Aang and I practice our Waterbending during the morning. That way, we can spend the rest of the day traveling," Katara was quick to point out.

Generally speaking, Shujinko didn't appreciate being questioned. In his opinion, staying where they were was an unnecessary risk, and unnecessary risks often led to failure. Maybe this was coming from a place of arrogance, but Shujinko reckoned he knew better than them due to the simple fact that he was a ninja while the rest of them were not. Even though he was not the appointed leader of the group, the Ozuma had a hard time following a bunch of teens who, as far as he could tell, had less experience than him in these sort of matters.

Against his better judgment, the golden-eyed boy decided to grant their request. "Fine, I guess we can stay for a couple more hours. Do you mind if I come with you? I'm curious to learn about this bending stuff and how it works,"

Katara shrugged her shoulders. "I don't see why not. Maybe a little audience will help us perform better. What do you say, Aang?"

"Sure, I wouldn't mind at all," the bald monk replied with an amiable smile. "Get ready to have your socks knocked off. You can´t make clones using Waterbending, but it's still pretty cool to watch. Hey Sokka, do you want to tag along?"

"Nah, not really. I have more important things to do, like making sure there are no flees left inside my sleeping bag. Those little scumbags just don't know when to quit. You kiddos have fun in your water-splashing session; I'll keep an eye on the camp while you're gone,"

* * *

Waterbending was certainly an interesting sight to behold.

As he rested his back against a tree, Shujinko observed how Aang and Katara performed circular motions with their arms as they controlled the tides of the river. Their movements seemed to be as fluid as the water they were bending, which made sense to Shujinko from a metaphorical point of view, like how you had to become water if you wanted to control water. However, he would be lying to himself if he said those moves didn't look a bit silly, or at least out of place during a fast-paced battle. They had this dance-ish vibe going on that did not resemble the aggressive, confrontational nature of Ninjutsu.

Aang and Katara were currently passing a blob of water to each other back and forth. Instead of stopping the blob dead on its track, they redirected it before it got too close to them. Shujinko supposed it was an exercise meant to improve one's reactions as well as their control over the element itself. Such an exercise could never take place in the shinobi world. When performing Elemental Ninjutsu, ninjas gathered chakra inside of them before releasing it in the form of whatever element they had an affinity for. They didn't control the element per se, certainly not in the way benders did. They simply accumulated the energy inside of them, added a nature transformation, shaped it, and then allowed that energy to manifest itself to the exterior.

"Good work, Aang. You're really getting the hang of this," Katara praised her student once the exercise came to an end. The levitating blob of water became formless again and returned to the river.

"What can I say? I have the help of a great teacher," the Avatar replied. The two of them performed a hand gesture and bowed to each other, signaling the end of the lesson. It was like their version of the reconciliation seal, in which two fellow ninjas interlocked their index and middle fingers with one another after a sparring session, acknowledging that they were still comrades.

Feeling like he had done enough observation, the brown-haired boy stood up and removed the dust off his pants before approaching the two benders next to the shore. "I have to admit that was entertaining. Where I come from, you don't get to see water being manipulated like that. It was almost artistic in a way,"

"See, Katara? Even Shujinko thinks you're an artist when it comes to Waterbending," Aang said, to which Katara looked slightly embarrassed.

"Well, I don't know about that. It's not like I learned all of this on my own. Master Pakkun taught me so much, I would've never gotten this far without him,"

"Have you tried to learn Airbending from Aang, Katara?" the Chunin asked. "I mean, if you're teaching him Waterbending, it only seems fair to me that he teaches you Airbending in return. You never know when you might need it,"

"What? No, it doesn't work that way. I could never learn Airbending or any kind of bending besides Waterbending for that matter,"

That statement raised one of Shujinko's eyebrows. "And why not? You guys told me Aang was born an airbender, yet he seems to be picking up Waterbending just fine,"

"Well, do you remember how I said I was the Avatar?" Aang asked, earning a nod from the Ozuma. "The thing is, I'm an exception to the rule. No one but the Avatar can master more than one element, let alone all four of them. I have to use them wisely if I want to restore balance to the world, which is the reason why the Avatar was created in the first place, at least according to the legends,"

The golden-eyed boy was visibly surprised by this. He wasn't expecting the concept of bending to be so restrictive, to the point where only one person alive was capable of obtaining mastery over all four elements. He recalled Aang saying something similar during his explanation of what the Avatar was, but Shujinko had forgotten about it due to the overwhelming amount of information he received. It wasn't easy for someone in his position to remember everything about a legend he had known about for less than a day or so.

Each and every single ninja was born with an affinity towards an element, and while it was extremely difficult, it was possible for everyone to learn Fire Release, Water Release, Wind Release, Earth Release, and Lightning Release. Hell, it had been done before by the likes of Hiruzen Sarutobi and Kakashi Hatake, although the latter possessed a Sharingan, and so it could be argued that he had cheated in order to achieve such a feat.

He could see now why Aang posed that much of a threat to the Fire Nation. An individual with such unique power could eventually become far too dangerous for anyone to deal with, and so they were forced to chase after Aang and take him down before he could reach his full potential. It was rather ironic how the biggest danger the Fire Nation had to face was a goofy, happy-go-lucky twelve-year-old.

At the same time, he rejected the idea that Aang was this unbeatable, almighty individual simply because he was the one person who could master all four elements. Maybe he was seen as such by the people of this part of the world, but Shujinko knew better. In the shinobi world, it was foolish to equate the power of a ninja with the number of elemental affinities he had. Attributes such as intelligence, experience, physical strength, chakra control, and prowess played a huge role when assessing how dangerous an opponent was. And so Aang could be the only bender alive who could master all four elements, but how much good would that sort of power do to him if he was too slow to react to a shuriken coming at him? Shujinko truly hoped Aang was aware of this, because if he wasn't, then he was leaving himself more vulnerable than what he could imagine.

"Shujinko, are you alright? You look like you zoned out," the monk said, crashing Shujinko's train of thought. He blinked before shaking his head.

"It's nothing; I just got a little distracted. By the way, do you think you could show me some of your Airbending? There's something I'd like to check,"

An enthusiastic smile took over Aang's face. Despite not being arrogant or cocky, he couldn't help but enjoy showing off his Airbending abilities, which always seemed to earn him looks of awe and amazement from whatever crowd had gathered. Ever since what happened in Kyoshi Island, he promised Katara and himself that he would no longer perform flashy, yet unnecessary demonstrations just to receive cheers and praises from others, but given how Shujinko was the one who was asking and it was just the three of them, Aang supposed there was no harm in amusing the new member of the group.

"No problem! Take a look at this!" After doing a somewhat exaggerated set of hand motions, Aang brought his palms together. When he separated them, there was a small ring of air spinning around itself. "Airbending at its finest. What'cha think? Pretty cool, right?"

A thick drop of sweat rolled down Shujinko's temple. He was expecting something a little bit more impressive than what he got. It's not like he wanted Aang to create a tornado, but anything would've been better than a puny ring of air that had no use or purpose whatsoever. "That's… okay, I guess. Can you do anything else, like a gust of wind or something?"

The smile on Aang's face faded away, giving room to a somewhat surprised expression. "… Oh, well, sure. I can do that,"

It was true that the air ring was a basic technique taught to young monks who were just starting to learn Airbending, but it was usually more than enough to impress someone. Judging by the look on his face, Aang could tell Shujinko was not impressed in the slightest, as if he had seen far more astounding displays of Airbending before. Taking a deep breath, the Avatar jumped forward and extended his hands, releasing a strong gust of wind that caused the surface of the river to shift, pushing back the water.

"Was that any better?" Aang asked innocently, like a student asking a teacher if he had given the correct answer to a math problem. To his satisfaction, Shujinko nodded approvingly.

"A lot better. It seems like Airbending and Wind Release have at least some things in common. I wonder what other applications Airbending has,"

Katara's eyebrows rose slightly. "Wind Release? What's that?" she asked with no short amount of interest.

In response, the Ozuma cracked his knuckles before weaving several hand signs at great speed. Before either Aang or Katara had enough time to ask what he was doing, Shujinko clasped his palms together. "Wind Style: Gale Palm," he said out loud, releasing a gust of wind similar to Aang's. His jutsu didn't have the same reach as the wind the airbender had pushed, but since it was compressed, it was noticeably stronger as well. Once the technique had ended, Shujinko turned around and met the gazes of two flabbergasted benders, one more so than the other. "That was Wind Release. Just like you, I can also perform techniques based on the elements of nature. We call it Elemental Ninjutsu from where I come from,"

For a brief moment, Aang forgot how to speak. He had no words to describe what he just witnessed. A powerful rush of memories and emotions flooded his mind, almost to the point of collapse. He simply stood there with his jaw slightly hanging and his eyes wide open.

It was only after he registered Katara's voice that Aang managed to return to the real world, albeit still astonished and at a loss for words. "I don't believe this…" Katara began to say, struggling to keep her thoughts and emotions in check. "Shujinko, you… You can airbend!"

Shujinko shook his head. "I'm afraid I can't. Elemental Ninjutsu isn't the same as bending. You have to remember that I'm not from around here, and my abilities are as foreign to these lands as I am,"

"But… But we just saw you bending air! Only airbenders can do that. How can you say you're not an airbender when-"

"Katara, Shujinko is telling the truth. That wasn't Airbending," Aang said. His usually happy and carefree attitude had suddenly been replaced by a hollow, dejected mood that most definitely did not belong to him. "I think we can continue or Waterbending lessons tomorrow. I'm gonna head back and see if Sokka needs any help,"

The Avatar turned around with his head hanging low. Shujinko and Katara stared at him in silence, neither of them daring to utter a single word. It was clear to Shujinko that something about his Ninjutsu demonstration had affected Aang in a negative way as if the bald monk had just received some bad news. His change of attitude was far too noticeably for Shujinko to ignore, although he couldn't quite understand in what way his own ability to perform Wind Release was related to the Avatar's sudden dismay, especially considering how upbeat he was just a minute ago.

"What's wrong with Aang? Why is he feeling so sad all of a sudden?" the Ozuma asked Katara. The look on her face was telling him that she knew what was going on, or that at least she had some idea that might explain Aang's personality spin.

"I'm not entirely sure, but I think I know what happened. I don't blame you for this. It's just that… With Aang's past…"

"Aang's past? I'm not following here. Did I accidentally insult him or something?"

The waterbender shook her head. "No, I don't feel like you insulted Aang. But when you showed him that Wind Release thing that you can do, he must've thought about… Never mind, it's not my place to say. I'm going to check up on Aang and see if he wants to talk,"

Katara's answers, while not extremely insightful, still gave Shujinko a clue. The blue-eyed girl mentioned something about Aang's past, but she wasn't willing to explain any further out of respect. If he had to bet, his display of Wind Release made the young monk remember something about his past, that something probably being an event or an incident which Aang wasn't very fond of.

As he saw Katara leaving, the brown-haired boy began to wonder whether he should investigate this unexpected turn of events or leave things as they were. He didn't like the idea of snooping around and he generally tried to respect other peoples' privacy, the same way he wanted others to respect his. However, since he was the new member of the group by Aang's own suggestion and admission, it was his job to integrate and build up their teamwork, and in order to do that, he needed to know some personal information about those around him. He didn't need to hear all about Aang's life from birth to current day, just enough to understand what caused the boy to react in such an uncharacteristic way, if only to prevent future complications from happening.

His desire to know more about Aang and the Water Tribe siblings didn't necessarily belong to a feeling of wanting friendship, as he knew that developing strong emotional ties with them would only make it harder for him to leave. What he wanted was to have their trust. If they trusted him, they would be more willing to listen to what he had to say and their teamwork would gradually become stronger, all for the sake of group efficiency. Shujinko came to the conclusion that if teamwork was to be achieved, he would first have to get to know everyone better and he would also have to open himself up more.

In short, Shujinko was going to have to show empathy if he wanted to keep things professional, and he had no idea how he felt about that. Well, there was only one way to find out.

* * *

Upon reaching the camp, Shujinko took a quick glance at the place to see if either Aang or Katara wee around. There didn't seem to be any signs of them, to which Shujinko supposed those two were most likely discussing in private somewhere near the camp. Appa was lazily trying to touch his nose with the tip of his tongue as he laid on the ground while Momo was chasing after grasshoppers to have them as snacks.

Shujinko found Sokka sitting comfortably on Appa's saddle, smiling with his eyes closed. The Ozuma resisted the urge to frown in disapproval. Sokka had yet to take notice of his presence, and with that level of unawareness, a group of Fire Nation soldiers could've easily approached the guy and turn him into a hostage, even if they had to deal with Appa as well. The golden-eyed boy supposed he was also to blame for not leaving a shadow clone to stand guard.

Still, berating Sokka right off the bat wasn't going to help Shujinko receive many answers from him, so he made a mental note about discussing safety measures with the group once the time was right and walked up to the boy from the Water Tribe. "Hey Sokka, are you busy right now?"

"Mhmn?" Sokka opened his eyes and turned his head slightly to the right, facing Shujinko all the way from his resting spot. "Oh, it's you. I was just daydreaming about having a big, tasty, roasted Turtle Seal for dinner. It's the first thing I'm gonna eat if I ever visit the Northern Water Tribe again. How was the water-splashing session? I'm not seeing Aang or Katara anywhere,"

"That's actually why I'm here. I need to ask you a couple of questions," Shujinko replied before jumping onto Appa's saddle, landing on the opposite side of Sokka. "How well do you know Aang?"

Sokka blinked in confusion. "Well, Katara and I have been traveling with Aang for a long while, so I think I know quite a bit about the friendliest, happiest, baldest monk in the world,"

"Is there anything you can tell me about his past?"

"His past? Why would you want to know about his past?"

"While Katara and Aang were practicing their Waterbending, something weird happened. Aang suddenly got depressed and Katara said it might have something to do about his past, but neither of them explained to me what was going on,"

The boomerang boy furrowed his brow and placed his fingers on his chin, making a thoughtful pose. The Chunin waited in silence, hoping that Sokka would come up with an answer using the little information he received. Shujinko deliberately omitted the part where he performed Wind Release in front of them, as he didn't feel like explaining Elemental Ninjutsu to Sokka in full detail. With some luck, perhaps he would realize what happened to his friend without asking for the whole story.

Unfortunately, Sokka shook his head in denial. "Nope, it doesn't add up. Aang's not the kind of guy who gets sulky over nothing. Something else must've happened,"

'I thought as much,' Shujinko said to himself, feeling slightly disappointed. It would've been ideal to get to the bottom of this without having to reveal everything that took place, but that was no longer an option now. 'Well, this was bound to happen sooner or later. Might as well do it now,' "Actually, something else did happen. Do you remember what I said about my Ninjutsu abilities?"

"Ninjutsu? Do you mean that freaky power that allows you to create shadow copies or something? Yeah, it's kinda' hard to forget about that. What does that have to do with anything, though?"

"You see, shadow clones aren't the only thing I can do with Ninjutsu…"

Shujinko then proceeded to explain the basics of Elemental Ninjutsu to Sokka. It was a lengthy process that included the different chakra affinities, how chakra was molded, the purpose behind hand signs, and how Elemental Ninjutsu was used in battle compared to bending. Sokka's eyes grew wider and wider as he heard the words coming out of Shujinko's mouth. Days ago, he would've scoffed at the idea of a human wielding that kind of power, but now that he had seen what Shujinko was capable of doing, Sokka was far more receptive than before, even if he still had trouble assimilating such things.

To conclude his explanation and to erase all doubts, Shujinko performed the same jutsu that he showed Aang and Katara. The gale of wind that erupted from his hands was strong enough to briefly shake the tents. Momo, who had just caught a grasshopper and happened to be nearby, let out a shriek as the wind struck the lemur from behind, causing him to drop the insect he was holding. The Flying Bison grunted in discomfort, not expecting the sudden gust of wind that had been released from the top of his back.

"Woooooah… You really weren't kidding. You can actually do Windbending, or Air Release, or whatever that thing was," Sokka said in awe. "Man, why couldn't we have met you sooner? We really could've used your help in several occasions, like when the Fire Nation invaded the Northern Air Temple, or when we were forced to deal with those three crazy chicks in Omashu, or when-"

"Sokka, I didn't do all of this just to show off," Shujinko interrupted him. "Once Aang and Katara were done practicing, I asked Aang for an Airbending demonstration. He gladly accepted, but after he showed me what he could do, I showed him my Wind Release. They were both surprised just like you were, but then, I'm not sure what happened to Aang. He looked like he was sad or disappointed for some reason, and when I consulted Katara, she said something about his past. That's why I wanted to talk to you, so I can understand what happened to Aang and why he reacted that way,"

"Well, now that you've told me the entire story, I can see why Aang got distressed. I'm pretty sure he must've thought of his old life back in the Southern Air Temple, what with him being the last airbender alive and what not,"

"What did you just say?" Shujinko asked. "Aang is the last airbender alive? Why? What happened to the others?"

"They were attacked and murdered by the Fire Nation about a hundred years ago when Fire Lord Sozin began the invasion," the son of Hakoda said as he adopted a more serious attitude. He couldn't speak about the attacks committed by the Fire Nation without remembering the one that claimed his mother's life all those years ago, a memory that still haunted him. "Aang used to live among the Air Nomads, monks who dedicate their life to Airbending. They were probably the most peaceful group of people you could imagine, which is why Aang hates violence and only acts on self-defense. Anyhow, when the monks revealed to Aang that he was the Avatar, Aang couldn't handle the pressure and ran away. The Fire Nation attacked the Air Nomads and the rest of the world shortly afterward, knowing that whoever the Avatar was, he or she had to be an airbender, so they targeted all of them first as a way to start their invasion. Since he ran away before that happened, Aang was the only survivor. The rest of the Air Nomads were killed,"

It was Shujinko's turn to be at a loss for words. It wasn't like he had never heard of people getting killed before. After all, he was a shinobi, and a large portion of the history of the ninja world was written in blood. What he wasn't expecting, however, was the way that Aang dealt with his past. The young monk had lost all of his people in one fell swoop, yet he still managed to carry on with a smile on his face. Aang seemed to share a similar past with Sasuke, even though they were insultingly different from one another. He could be wrong, but Shujinko had the impression that, unlike Sasuke, Aang wasn't looking for revenge against those who had taken everything away from him. He seemed to be far more concerned with his duty towards the world rather than anything else.

On the other hand, Aang's reaction towards Shujinko's display of Wind Release made a whole lot of sense now. Shujinko was no airbender, and Aang knew that, but seeing him perform Wind Release was undoubtedly the closest thing to a fellow Air Nomad the Avatar had seen since the eradication of his people. It was more than enough to shock anyone, and it served as a painful reminder for Aang that he was the last of his kind. Shujinko started to feel a bit guilty, as he wouldn't have shown Aang his Wind Release had he been aware of this issue.

"Do you think Aang is going to be angry at me? I didn't mean to disrespect Airbending or something like that. I can imagine Aang being touchy about it," Shujinko asked. He didn't like the idea of being on someone's bad side just for a mistake, especially if he was going to travel with that someone for what could possibly be a considerable amount of time.

Surprisingly for him, Sokka shook his head. "Nah, I don't think so. From what I've seen so far, Aang doesn't really hold any grudges against anyone, not even the Fire Nation. You'd have to do something really messed up to get him to hate you," he said. Both teens overheard footsteps coming from the forest and they turned their heads around to see Aang and Katara. "There you are. What were you two doing?"

"Sorry for being late. Katara and I were just talking and we lost track of time," Aang answered. He seemed to have regained a little bit of his personality back, but for the most part, he still looked sad.

"Really? Looks like you had quite the long conversation. What were you two talking about?" Sokka asked, only to receive a slight frown from Shujinko. Realizing the stupidity of his question, Sokka waved his hand in a dismissing manner and used his free hand to grab the map that was sitting on his lap. "Actually, never mind. It's probably none of my business. Anyways, I was looking at the map and I saw a town that might be worth checking out. I overheard a random guy talking about it back in Gi Yuin Village. It's a small settlement that's often visited by traveling caravans during this time of the year. It's about twenty minutes away from here if we fly, so it wouldn't be much of a deviation. What do you guys say?"

Shujinko was about to argue that they shouldn't waste their time with unnecessary deviations, but then he realized that a short trip to a nearby town might help Aang get his mind off of things, and the Ozuma was technically guilty for making the young airbender feel bad in the first place. "That might not be such a bad idea. Besides, it's not like we have an awful lot of things to do around here,"

"I say we should go. It sounds like a lot of fun," Katara said, her voice sounding more cheerful than usual. "How about it, Aang? Do you want to visit this place Sokka is talking about?"

The young Avatar managed to give Katara a weak smile. "Thanks, but I don't really feel like going out right now. You guys should go, I'll stay here in the meantime,"

A little disheartened by the Avatar's lack of enthusiasm, Katara nodded and made her way to Appa. Aang was still feeling melancholic and sad after seeing Shujinko perform his so-called Wind Release, which made him remember the Air Nomads he grew up with and how they had been eradicated from the face of the earth. Most of the time, Aang had a cheerful and optimistic attitude towards life, and he didn't seem to have a problem with openly talking about the lessons he had learned from the monks. However, watching someone else do the closest thing there was to Airbending and being reminded that he was the last of his kind wasn't something easy to swallow, especially for someone as sensitive as Aang.

Suddenly, Shujinko decided to jump off of the Sky Bison, landing close to the tents. "What's the problem? Aren't you coming with us?" Sokka asked as he grabbed a hold of Appa's reins.

"On second thought, I think I'll pass. Aang and I will wait here and keep an eye on the camp while you're gone. It's safer that way," Shujinko replied.

The Water Tribe siblings looked a bit conflicted. While they were starting to warm up to Shujinko, neither of them felt completely comfortable leaving him alone with Aang, and least not yet. Despite knowing him for less than two days, the golden-eyed boy had already managed to turn their world upside down by showing them magical powers that defied logic, common sense, and basic science. You simply couldn't witness a person doing the impossible and not grow at least a little bit suspicious about said person.

On the other hand, Shujinko seemed like an honest guy. How he ended up in a foreign land was a mystery to him, and the only thing he wanted was to return to his village, wherever that was. None of his motivations were related to Aang or the ongoing war, and he had made it very clear that he would choose to go back to his home immediately and leave them to their affairs given the chance. Nothing indicated that Shujinko wanted to hurt or betray them, as doing so wouldn't bring him any closer to the Hidden Leaf Village.

In the end, Katara and Sokka decided to show some trust and left the camp riding on Appa, telling the other two boys that they wouldn't be out for long. "I still don't understand how that giant creature can do that," Shujinko muttered as the figure of Appa became smaller and smaller the longer it soared through the skies. He wondered how the people of the Hidden Leaf Village would react if they ever saw Appa casually landing on the local park in broad daylight.

When he turned around, he saw Aang sitting next to the fire, petting Momo as a way to distract himself. The corner of Shujinko's mouth twitched down. The gloomy look on the monk's face reminded him of Lee when he was forced to either abandon his career as a ninja or undergo a medical procedure that could cost him his life. Aang wasn't his friend, but that didn't stop him from feeling empathy towards the boy who had lost his home and his people. Being the Avatar didn't make Aang any less human. The Chunin let out a sigh and decided that, in this instance, he should put the shinobi side of him on hold and treat Aang like a fellow habitant of the Hidden Leaf.

"Aang, follow me," he said once he had gotten close enough to the monk. Aang raised his head and stared at him in surprise.

"Why? Are we going somewhere?"

"That's correct. I found a place you might like. It's not far from here, so don't worry,"

* * *

"Erh, Shujinko, didn't you say we were supposed to keep an eye on the camp while Sokka and Katara were gone?" Aang asked as he followed the brown-haired boy through the woods. For someone who was keen on keeping everything organized and under control, it didn't seem like him to just leave the camp unattended.

"Yeah, but I doubt anything bad will happen to us if we leave the camp for a couple of minutes," Shujinko replied before finding the spot he was looking for. He stood in front of a large tree that was different from the others around. Its trunk had grown curved enough for people to comfortably sit on it, which was exactly what Shujinko did. With a single jump, he closed the distance between him and the tree, taking a seat on the arched trunk. "Come here, Aang. Sit next to me,"

The Avatar raised an eyebrow but obliged nonetheless. Making use of his Airbending, Aang jumped, twirled his body while in midair, and landed close to where Shujinko was sitting. "I still don't understand why we're here. Did we come all this way just to sit on a tree?"

"Not _just _to sit on a tree, Aang. I wanted to talk to you about what happened this morning,"

"… Oh, that," Aang said as he looked crestfallen again. "I suppose I should explain myself,"

"That won't be necessary. Sokka told me what happened to the Air Nomads and why you're the last airbender alive," the Ozuma replied as he got straight to the point. He didn't like beating around the bush when addressing important topics such as the one at hand. "I'm sorry for what happened to you and your people. Had I known about them beforehand, I wouldn't have shown you my Wind Release out of the blue,"

Aang took a deep breath, his gaze fixated on the ground beneath them. "Don't worry, it wasn't your fault. Since you're not from around here, you had no way to know what has happened in the last hundred years. It's just that… that thing you did at the river, it looked like Airbending, but it didn't felt anything like it. For a moment, I thought that I was watching another airbender, but then I remembered what the Fire Nation did to the rest of us, and how I am the last of the Air Nomads,"

An awkward silence took place. Shujinko couldn't think of anything else to say to Aang. He already said he felt sorry for him, so now what? Were they supposed to remain quiet until Katara and Sokka arrived? On their way here, Shujinko wasn't sure whether he would be able to come up with an encouraging speech or not, but he hoped he would find the correct words once they sat down and started talking. He had clearly overestimated his own eloquence.

But then, Shujinko realized something.

"You know, maybe we're not so different you and I,"

The Avatar turned to face him. "What do you mean?"

"As you've already noticed, I carry the last name Ozuma with me," Shujinko began to say, to which Aang nodded. "A long time ago, the Ozuma used to be a mighty and powerful shinobi clan that lived in a country known as the Land of the Sky. Much like the Air Nomads, they were born with a natural affinity towards the element of air, or in this case, wind. They were even born with a Kekkei Genkai, a unique ability genetically transmitted from one member of the clan to another. All in all, they were one of the most famous clans throughout the land… and one of the most feared as well,"

Talking about the Ozuma clan's past seemed to be working. Aang was listening to his words with wide eyes, like a child listening to an intriguing storyteller. "What happened to them?"

"There were many shinobi clans fighting against each other in the Land of the Sky. Some of them just wanted a piece of territory in which they could grow and prosper while others fought for more power. The Ozuma clan… I guess you could say they wanted both things more than the others did. Some prominent families offered the Ozuma clan to forge an alliance, but they refused every time, arguing that they had no need for allies whom they deemed to be inferior to them. Eventually, the Ozuma clan became too dangerous, to the point where they were threatening to take over the country. The other clans refused to let that happen, and so they joined forces in secret. Then, before the Ozuma clan had the chance to execute their plans, the day of reckoning came for them, and they were attacked by the combined strength of several other clans,"

"… So did they… you know…"

"Die?" Shujinko guessed. Aang swallowed hard but nodded nevertheless. "Yeah, pretty much. As far as we know, every Ozuma who was there at the time perished. This was before I was born, so I don't really know how things went down. My father managed to escape before they could get to him. He was… different from the rest of the clan. He wasn't allowed to become a warrior like the rest of his family members, and he was shamed for it. After he escaped, he traveled far and wide, and at some point, he met my mother. They got married and gave birth to me and my younger sister Nanami. When I was a baby, the Hidden Leaf Village took us in, and once I was old enough, I joined the Academy and became a Genin at the age of twelve. My parents kept our lineage a secret until I activated the Ozuma clan's Kekkei Genkai, which forced them to reveal the history of our origins,"

The bald monk was truly surprised. Up until this point, he had never wondered what kind of background Shujinko's family had. It was clear that the circumstances surrounding the end of the Air Nomads and the end of the Ozuma clan were completely different, but the two of them still shared the same fate: Slaughter and destruction. One could argue that, unlike the Air Nomads, the Ozuma had merited their own demise after waging war for so long, but Aang still felt pity for them. As an airbender, Aang was raised to believe that life was sacred and that no one, let alone an entire group of people, deserved to be killed despite their sins and foul actions.

"What I'm trying to say is that neither of us would be here today had our paths been different. It's true that the Air Nomads are no longer around, but because you escaped, you're still alive and you still have a chance to rebuild the way of your people. As for me, if my father hadn't escaped, he would've died along with the rest of the Ozuma and I would've never been born, but because he did, the Ozuma clan still exists and we can start over again, and I'll make sure my clan never repeats the mistakes of our past. I'm not saying we should be glad for what happened to our people, I'm saying that as long as we live, we can still bring them back instead of letting them disappear from history. At least that's what I believe,"

Once he finished talking, Shujinko remained silent, feeling a little surprised and embarrassed over his improvised philosophical speech. Turns out he _was _eloquent, after all. He wasn't expecting himself to reveal to Aang the history of the Ozuma clan, but he supposed it helped him relate to the Avatar as fellow survivors of a massacre. Perhaps ignoring his shinobi side of him and allowing his "human" side of him to take control had induced him into talking more than what he should of.

To the Chunin's surprise and satisfaction, Aang began to smile. It wasn't a huge grin that went from ear to ear, but rather a soft rise of the corners of his mouth, which was still enough to bring back the positive and enthusiastic airbender inside of him. "I like that. The monks used to say that life was like a tree. You can't stop a tree from eventually falling, but you can choose to grow a new one from its seeds,"

Shujinko returned the smile, but decided to stop exposing so much of his emotions. He wanted to make Aang feel better, not to develop an everlasting friendship with him. Now that this task had been achieved, he had to go back to being his shinobi-self, someone focused on his primary goal of returning to his village. "I'm glad that you see things that way. In any case, I suppose we should head back to our camp. Sokka and Katara might return any minute now, and I'm pretty sure they wouldn't be happy if they didn't find us there. Also, I'd appreciate it if you kept the story of my clan a secret. It may not be the most important thing in the world, but it's not something I enjoy talking about it with people I just met. I made an exception with you, but Katara and Sokka don't need to know of this,"

"Don't worry, I promise I won't tell them anything without your permission… And Shujinko?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for talking to me. Maybe you won't stick around with us forever, but I'm happy we got to meet each other,"

"Don't mention it, Aang. To tell you the truth, I'm not the kind of guy who does this kind of things to people I barely even know, and don't expect this to happen often, but I guess there was no harm in helping you out this time," Shujinko replied dismissingly. He then recalled something about Aang's past that Sokka told him about and began to frown. "Actually, can you explain something to me before we go?"

The Avatar nodded firmly. "Sure, what is it?"

"When Sokka told me what happened to the Air Nomads, he said that the Fire Nation attacked them a hundred years ago and that you were the only survivor,"

"And it's true. The Fire Nation began the war a long time ago and the airbenders were their first victims. I ran away before I knew the war had started,"

Shujinko gave Aang a questioning stare, trying to make the monk realize where he was getting at. "So…"

"So… what?"

"So how come you're still alive when all of this happened a hundred years ago? I mean, you don't even look like you're older than me, and I'm only fourteen years old. Does the Avatar stops aging at a certain point or what?"

Aang tilted his head in confusion. "Didn't Sokka tell you how he and Katara found me?"

"No, he didn't. You and Katara showed up before we had the time to get to that part, and I obviously wasn't going to ask him such a question in your presence,"

"Well, I know this is going to sound crazy to you, but I guess I'm technically a hundred and twelve years old. When I escaped from the Southern Air Temple, there was a massive storm going on and Appa and I got caught in the middle of it. We lost control and ended up plunging into the ocean. I'm not exactly sure how I did it, but before we could drown, I involuntarily tapped into the Avatar State and froze myself along with Appa by creating a sphere of ice around us. We remained frozen for a hundred years while the war went on, and at some point, we reached the South Pole in the form of an iceberg. That was when Sokka and Katara stumbled upon us. They shattered the ice and got us out of there. I woke up surrounded by snow and felt like I had just taken the nap of a lifetime, which was kind of what happened when you think about it. Then I found out about the war and how the Fire Nation was after me, and I've been traveling around the world with Sokka and Katara ever since,"

…

The brown-haired teen blinked once… twice… thrice… "You're pulling my leg here, right? There's no way that can be true,"

"But it _is _true," Aang insisted as he held back a laugh. The look on Shujinko's face was downright comical. "I swear I'm not making this up. You can ask Katara and Sokka when they get here, they'll tell you the same thing,"

Shujinko could understand that he was in a foreign part of the world where things worked differently, with bending being a perfect example. The concepts of hybrid animals and other bizarre creatures such as Appa were a real stretch, but with enough open-mindedness and consideration, he could fathom encountering somewhat similar living organisms somewhere in the shinobi continent. The Tailed Beasts were a thing, after all.

But a kid managing to survive after a hundred years of being frozen? That was where Shujinko drew the line. "Come on, that's ridiculous. The idea that you share the same soul as other people from the past is farfetched enough as it is, but this is just impossible. You seriously expect me to believe that you're still alive after your body was frozen for a hundred years?" he asked.

"Well, yeah. I did warn you this was going to sound crazy, remember?" the Avatar asked back. "Besides, you didn't know this part of the world existed before, and yet here you are. I didn't know what ninjas were or that they even existed, and yet here you are. At this point, I don't think neither of us can make any judgments about what's possible and what's impossible,"

That was… actually a pretty solid argument. If someone had ever told him about a place outside of the shinobi continent where people could bend the elements of nature to their will despite having no knowledge or aptitude for Ninjutsu, where giant bison could fly like birds and where an immortal spirit was constantly reincarnating in the form of different individuals, Shujinko would've thought that place belonged to a fiction novel written by a very creative (or insane) author.

However, such a place was _indeed_ real, and the Ozuma was _indeed _there. Sure, there had to be a considerably long distance between this region of the world and the shinobi continent, but that didn't change the fact that the two of them existed together. After all, there were no such things as alternative realities or parallel dimensions, and even if they theoretically existed, there was absolutely nothing Shujinko could've ever done to come across them, for doing such a thing was far, far beyond his human limitations.

Anyways, he was getting distracted. The point was that… well, Aang had a point. After all, he had witnessed and experienced ever since he woke up yesterday, Shujinko was in no position to judge what was possible and what wasn't. He still refused the idea that Aang had survived being frozen for a hundred years, but an irritating voice inside his head was telling him that the boy in front of him was no liar, further increasing his annoyance. There were only a few things Shujinko hated more than not being able to agree with himself.

"You know what? I think I've heard enough. This whole conversation is giving me a headache," the Chunin declared as he hopped off the tree and landed on the ground, with Aang doing the same. "Let's just return to the camp before Sokka and Katara arrive. Oh, and no more talking about being inside an iceberg or other nonsense,"

As they began to walk, Shujinko quietly observed his surroundings. The trees of this forest, although decently tall in their own right, were almost tiny when compared to the trees that were found in the Hidden Leaf Village. As a society that started inside a forest and was still surrounded by them, villagers were taught from a young age that they had to respect nature if they wanted to benefit from it.

Shujinko was in agreement with that principle, but he never really gave it much thought until he unlocked the Karura Tensei and started learning more about Sage Mode. Jiraiya once told him that a Sage drew his strength from nature, and that nature could be a powerful ally if one properly learned how to get in tune with it. Since he had the Karura Tensei, Shujinko never had to go through the process of learning how to get in tune with nature, but he understood what the white-haired pervert was saying and admired him for being able to become a Sage without having a Kekkei Genkai like the one the Ozuma clan had.

"How in the world did I end up in this place…" Shujinko said to no one in particular. He couldn't even watch the trees without thinking about Hidden Leaf Village and its people.

Aang couldn't help himself and let out a cheeky grin. "That's funny, I remember saying the exact same thing… when I realized I was in the South Pole after being inside an iceberg,"

"Aang…"

"Just kidding, just kidding,"

* * *

Aaaaand there you have chapter 4. Hope you all liked it.

This chapter got delayed because my laptop got effed up, so I had to use a notepad to write down the first half, re-write the first half once I replaced my laptop, and then finish the other half. It was a long process that took quite a bit of time and effort, but I'm happy to say that I'm back on track.

Yes, I know, this chapter was basically all talk and no action, but I feel like this had to be done. I really don't like it when characters don't react properly to things that clearly should have an impact on them. Aang is the last airbender, so for him to see another person who can manipulate air/wind despite not being an airbender must've been a shocker. Do you really think it would've been realistic if Shujinko performed Wind Release and be like "yeah this Elemental Ninjutsu, it's not bending", and then have Aang be like "Oh, okay, sure that makes sense"?

Besides, now Shujinko and Aang know each other's background, which is an important element of the story. Character interactions are a lot more believable and meaningful between them when they have an understanding of what kind of life they had before they met.

Don't forget to Review, Favorite & Follow

Peace!


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5: LEAVES OF METAL**

* * *

(Disclaimer: Avatar The Last Airbender belongs to Nickelodeon and Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. I only own my OC's)

(PLEASE READ: THIS IS NOT A SEQUEL TO "SHUJINKO: THE FOURTH MEMBER", BUT A DIFFERENT STORY WITH SHUJINKO AS THE MAIN CHARACTER. THIS STORY WILL NOT HAVE ANY EFFECT WHATSOEVER IN "SHUJINKO SHIPPUDEN". I REPEAT, THIS IS NOT A SEQUEL TO SHUJINKO'S ORIGINAL STORY)

Summary: One night, a stranger breaks into Shujinko's house and tries to steal one of the most mystical objects in the history of the Ozuma clan: The Eye of Kazemaru. When Shujinko tries to stop him, the two of them activate an ancient and forgotten power of the gem by accident, which sends them to another dimension where a certain bald-headed monk has to master the four elements in order to defeat the evil Fire Lord. What kind of impact will Shujinko's presence have in the Avatar universe? Who is this stranger and what does he want? Get ready for one wild space-time adventure

* * *

"Aang! Shujinko! Guys, where are you!?" Sokka shouted as he continued to search for the Avatar around the near vicinity of their camping site.

Upon returning from their little trip to the village nearby, the Water Tribe siblings quickly realized that neither Aang nor Shujinko were in the camp. As far as Sokka could tell, there were no signs of a fight having taken place and he didn't see any Fire Nation troops while he was riding Appa. Fearing for the worst, Sokka immediately began to look for them, with Katara doing the same just a bit further from where he was.

"Oh man, I knew going to that village was a bad idea. Why didn't anyone tried to stop me? Those two are nowhere to be seen!"

"Sokka, we arrived here less than five minutes ago. Don't you think you're overreacting?" Katara asked as she approached her brother. Despite not finding the young monk or the golden-eyed boy at the camp, the waterbender kept an open mind and avoided jumping into conclusions, unlike her paranoid of a brother. "I think we should wait for them a little longer before we start to freak out. It's not like Aang has never gone off to wander around on his own for a while,"

"Exactly! You said it yourself!" Sokka replied. "He goes off to wander around on his own, but he wasn't alone this time, now was he?"

Katara slightly narrowed her eyes. "What are you implying?"

"Listen Katara, we can't afford to be naïve. I don't like to point fingers, but my guts are telling me that a certain someone, whose name starts with an 's' and ends with an 'o', has something to do with the fact that Aang's not here. You know that as well as I do,"

"Calm down, will you? Acting like a lunatic isn't going to help anyone," her sister said. Admittedly, Katara would be the first to become worried if one of her friends went missing, but that didn't mean she would immediately pin the blame on the first person that came to her head unless she had enough reasons and evidence to do so. She then caught sight of two individuals walking towards them, and her concerns were put to rest. "Besides, there's nothing to worry about. Shujinko and Aang are right be-"

"Nothing to worry about?" Sokka interrupted her, staring at his sister in disbelief. "Katara, in case you haven't notice, we're in the middle of a huge forest and the Fire Nation is chasing after us! How can you say there's nothing to worry about? For all we know, Shujinko could've turned on us while we were away and now Aang is his prisoner! We can't rule that possibility out just because he said he was willing to help us!"

"Sokka, if you would only listen to me and turn aro-"

"How about this scenario? We leave the two of them alone, Shujinko talks to Aang, convinces him to go on a stroll together, takes him as deep into the forest as he can, comes up with an excuse to distract him, and when Aang least expects it, Shujinko goes and-"

"Captures him?"

"D'AAAH!" Sokka let out a frightened, unmanly screech as he turned around. He had been so focused on his abduction theory that he failed to notice the presence of Aang and Shujinko behind his back until the latter spoke. "G-Geez, what was that all about? You could've given me a heart attack!" he protested, wondering how many years of his life had been taken away from him because of the panic.

"Sorry about that, and sorry for not letting you know that we left the camp for a while, but it's not like we had any way of contacting you," Shujinko said apologetically before casting an interesting look on the boy from the Water Tribe. "Now, care to go through that scenario again? About me taking Aang prisoner?"

Sokka's face turned slightly blue, matching the color of his outfit. "I… Uh… I wasn't really talking about you… You see, there's this other guy who also happens to be named Shujinko... A nasty and mean Fire Nation soldier… and he-"

"Just so you know, If I really wanted to capture Aang I would've done so already, and I would've come up with something a lot more elaborated than convincing Aang to go on a stroll together," Shujinko cut him off before walking past him, leaving an embarrassed Sokka behind. Truth be told, he didn't blame Sokka for thinking that he had done something to the Avatar, considering that Katara, Sokka, and Aang were close friends and he was almost a stranger to the group. However, Sokka needed to realize that he had no interest on harming any of them unless they gave him enough of a reason to do so, something Shujinko believed to be highly unlikeable judging by what he had seen so far.

The waterbender of the group was visibly surprised as she noticed how Aang seemed to have reverted back to his usual self. He was no longer mopping or showing any negative emotions. It was almost as if he had forgotten what took place earlier this morning, although couldn't be possible. She herself hadn't completely gotten over the shock of seeing what Shujinko could do with his Ninjutsu, so, by all means, Aang was supposed to feel even more confused and afflicted than she did, yet it didn't seem like that was the case. "What were you two doing outside the camp?"

Shujinko gave Aang a knowing look, to which he nodded with a smile. "Shujinko wanted to show me a cool tree that he saw earlier, it was definitely worth the walk," the airbender replied. Of course, that wasn't the real reason why the two of them went there, but he had promised Shujinko he wouldn't reveal their conversation to the Water Tribe siblings. So in order to avoid breaking his word to the Ozuma, Aang decided to answer truthfully while omitting the rest of the story, which didn't count as lying, therefore keeping his monk conscience clean. "How was your trip? Did anything interesting happen?"

"Oh, right, we brought something from the village. Just wait here a bit," Katara said before going to Appa's saddle and returning with three garments that made an outfit. "Here Shujinko, we got this for you,"

"For me?" Shujinko asked incredulously as he accepted the clothes and stared at them with wide eyes.

Katara nodded. "That's right. Don't take this the wrong way, but we thought you could use them since we're traveling to Gaoling and your current outfit is… Well, it kind of draws attention, which is exactly what we want to avoid,"

The golden-eyed boy took the time to examine the attire handed to him by Katara. The outfit consisted of a pair of loose dark green pants, a long-sleeved beige shirt, and a light green jacket with rolled up sleeves. The set of clothes were far from being fancy or elaborated, as they were wrinkled and even had a couple of patches sewed onto them, but still, Shujinko never expected such a kind gesture from people that barely knew him. "I… don't know what to say. Sokka, Katara, thank you very much. This was really kind of you," Shujinko responded, showing both of them a smile to express his sincere gratitude.

Katara answered with a smile of her own. Her brother, however, waved his hand in a dismissing manner. "No need to thank me, this was Katara's idea,"

Since there was nothing Shujinko could use as a fitting room and he didn't feel like going too far away from where he was just to put his new clothes on, the Chunin decided to hide behind Appa, hoping that the Sky Bison wouldn't move all of a sudden and accidentally expose his body. As the Ozuma started to undress, Aang recalled something. "How did you buy those clothes? Didn't we spend all of our money on supplies when we were in Gi Yuin Village?"

"Well, when we were about to leave this other village, we found a necklace on the ground. It was really pretty, but it belonged to an old lady who had accidentally dropped it while she and her grandsons were unpacking the tents from their caravan," Katara explained, only to be interrupted by a snort from Sokka.

"Just to be clear, I said we should've kept that necklace and sell it to the highest bidder. That old lady didn't seem all that trustworthy to me,"

"Sokka, how can you be so insensitive?" the waterbender asked in anger. "That necklace was given to her by her late husband! Do you really think I would've allowed you to sell the only meaningful possession a widow has left?"

"Was _allegedly _given to her by her _allegedly _late husband. I'm not trying to be heartless, I'm just saying that we had no way to know for sure that necklace was truly hers. What if she lied to our faces and kept that necklace for herself? Because believe it or not, old ladies can be scammers too,"

It took every bit of the Water Tribe girl's willpower to stop herself from slapping Sokka across the face using a water whip, and after taking a deep breath to calm her anger, Katara spoke again. "Anyways, that old lady happened to be selling clothes, and she was so happy after getting her necklace back that she asked us to pick whatever outfit we wanted for free. Since Shujinko is with us now, we thought we might as well help him look less suspicious by giving him a traditional Earth Kingdom outfit,"

After a short while, Shujinko came back wearing his new set of clothes, including his Chunin vest and his headband. "What do you think? Do I look Earth Kingdom-ly enough?" he asked. It felt a little weird to wear clothes that were so different from what he was used to, but Shujinko knew it was for the better since they would help him blend in with the crowd, a fundamental skill that every ninja ought to have. And besides, maybe Earth Kingdom fashion would eventually grow on him if given enough time, although the brown-haired boy hoped that wouldn't be the case since he wanted to return to his village as soon as possible.

"Huh, that's interesting. You actually do sort of look like an Earth Kingdom citizen," Sokka said as he raised an eyebrow. "But you might want to consider losing that weird vest you have on. I'm no fashion expert, but I'm pretty sure no one in the Earth Kingdom wears that kind of thing,"

"Really?" Shujinko repeated, staring down at his Chunin vest. He wanted to wear his vest not only because it was green just like most of his new outfit, but also because he was particularly fond of it. Tsunade herself had given it to him the day he earned his Chunin promotion and it was also quite practical for storing small objects. Despite all of that, avoiding unwanted attention was more important than keeping the vest and he knew it, so he took it off and left it close to his feet. "Okay, this should be enough,"

"Actually, there's one last thing you should do," Katara pointed out. "That headband still looks odd on you. If you remove it, no one should be able to tell you're not from the Earth Kingdom,"

Shujinko touched his headband with his fingertips, and this time, he struggled. Not wearing his Chunin vest was one thing, but removing his headband was something else entirely. At this point, he was so used to wearing it that not doing so made him feel uncomfortable unless he was inside his house or another familiar place such as Masao's sushi bar. Maybe he was being childish, but not being able to wear his dear headband bothered him now that he was so far away from home. "Sorry, but I'm keeping it on. I don't see how wearing my headband will be an issue,"

"Come on, Shujinko. It's better to be safe than sorry," the boy with the boomerang said. "What if someone asks you why are you wearing that strange headband that no one else has?"

"In that case, I'll just come up with an excuse and problem solved,"

The faint hint of defiance in his voice left the rest of the group a bit surprised, especially Katara, who was more perceptive than her brother and the Avatar. Without knowing Shujinko all that much, she could tell that headband was special to him regardless of its meaning. Katara found herself relating to him, as her necklace was her most treasured possession and she never took it off unless it was necessary. While she failed to see what was so important about that headband, she could understand Shujinko for wanting to keep wearing an object that had sentimental value to him.

Despite not coming to the same conclusion as Katara, Aang could feel the slight tension that was rising, and being the pacifistic monk that he was, he took it upon himself to defuse the situation before an argument could happen between Sokka and Shujinko. "Hey, I got it. You could say that you wear that headband as a lucky charm. You know, for good luck,"

Aang's idea, while questionable at best, was enough to prevent a potential discussion. "A lucky charm?" Sokka repeated. "That's obviously not going to cut it. How about this? Shujinko was a kid when he ran into a wild Pigmy Puma that attacked him and left a nasty scar on his forehead. No, wait! I have something even better than a wild Pigmy Puma… A pack of wild Pigmy Pumas! That should do the trick, right?"

"How about we continue this conversation once we dismantle our camp?" Katara suggested while pointing her thumb at the tents. "It's about time we continue with our journey to Gaoling, and we should find another place to rest before nightfall,"

"Alright, I get it, we need to get moving now," Sokka conceded as the rest of the group began to undo the tents. "… Still, I think we should run with that story. It's a pretty solid one if you ask me. I'm open to more ideas, but I don't see how any of them are gonna beat a pack of wild Pigmy Pumas,"

* * *

|Gi Yuin Village|

To say that Lieutenant Kaizu was having a bad day was an understatement.

Holding a pack of ice against the back of his head where Sokka's boomerang had struck him, the man began to wonder for the fiftieth time how in the name of the Spirit World did he went from almost catching the Avatar and obtaining eternal glory to losing all of that and more. It was true that he never expected the Avatar to appear in the village he and his men happened to be in, and he wasn't the first officer in the Fire Nation to miss the opportunity of capturing the boy, but still… to think that a mere group of youngsters would overwhelm and completely pulverize a squad of trained Fire Nation soldiers while outnumbered was by far the biggest humiliation he had ever experienced in all of his military career.

It was no secret inside the Fire Nation army that a lieutenant, despite having a higher standing than a common foot soldier, wasn't exactly someone who commanded a lot of respect from his or her higher-ups. Kaizu was well aware of this, and the fact that he was still a lieutenant when both his father and his grandfather had already achieved a higher position at his age was particularly embarrassing for the man who was about to reach his forties. Before all of the commotion had taken place, Lieutenant Kaizu was sure all he needed in order to achieve a much more important and befitting military rank was one commendable deed, but now? Now he was afraid of losing what little authority he had earned, as well as going back to being a common soldier, which basically meant saying goodbye to all his dreams of wealth, social status, and a legacy worth remembering.

While he continued to look back at his less than noteworthy trajectory as a Fire Nation soldier and officer, he was suddenly interrupted by a guard entering his private tent. "Sir, you have a very important visitor who wants to speak with you,"

Lieutenant Kaizu glared daggers at him all the way from his small desk. "Tell whoever is out there that I'm not in the mood for attending visitors,"

The guard looked visibly uncomfortable. "Sir, I… I don't think it would be appropriate,"

"Didn't you hear me just now? I said I won't receive anyone! Who is this visitor you're speaking of, anyway?" Before the guard had enough time to reply, three women entered the tent without asking for permission of any sort. When Lieutenant Kaizu recognized the woman who was in front of the other two, he nearly fell on his lower back. "P-Pri-Princess Az-Azula, it's you!" Lieutenant Kaizu shouted, immediately standing up straight and giving her a military salute. "M-My apologies, your Royal Highness. Had I known it was you…" Unable to come up with an answer, he looked at the guard who was still inside the tent and yelled his heart out. "You, why didn't you tell me our visitor was none other than Princess Azula!? Get out of my tent right now, before I leave you in charge of cleaning our latrines for the rest of the month!"

The guard didn't need to be told twice and left the tent as fast as he could, bowing to the daughter of the Fire Lord before doing so.

"To what I owe the honor of your visit, Princess Azula?" Lieutenant Kaizu asked, his forehead sweating.

"I'd prefer not to lie to you, Lieutenant. My associates and I had no interest in visiting this place filled with dirty villagers and the like, and we certainly had better things to do instead of bothering ourselves with whatever orders you're carrying out, but a messenger hawk from yesterday delivered a letter that caught our attention," Azula replied as she paced around, not bothering to meet the lieutenant's gaze. "Mai, what did that letter said again?"

Mai took out a small scroll began reading it out loud.

_Update on the war:_

_The Avatar has recently been seen at Gi Yuin Village in the company of his two Water Tribe traveling companions. They escaped before Lieutenant Kaizu and his men could restrain them. Their current whereabouts are unknown._

"Is this true, Lieutenant?" Azula asked.

"Yes, my princess. The Avatar and his friends were indeed here. I saw them with my own eyes,"

"If you saw them with your own eyes and still failed to capture them, my guess is that you fought the Avatar and lost, despite having the advantage in numbers and experience. Am I right, or is my assumption incorrect, Lieutenant?"

"It… pains me to say that your assumption is correct, my princess,"

Azula said nothing at first. Instead, she approached one side of the tent and unbuttoned a rectangular piece of cloth, which opened a window of sorts that gave a clear view of the outside. The princess of the Fire Nation gazed in silence as a gentle breeze slightly pushed her hair bangs. "How unfortunate. You would've done the Fire Nation an immense service by capturing the Avatar, or at the very least, holding him off until reinforcements arrived so that they could your job, one which you're clearly unfit to do,"

A huge pit was forming inside the lieutenant's stomach. He could already picture himself going back to the barracks and eating the same filth as the men who were once under his command. His skin became even paler when Azula turned around and gave him a soul-piercing stare.

"Tell me, Lieutenant. Why should I allow you to retain your already low rank? You have given me plenty of reason to demote you so by allowing a kid and two Water Tribe peasants to escape,"

"P-Princess Azula, with all due respect, that was not exactly what happened. The message you received did not cover everything that took place. We confronted the Avatar and his friends, that much is true, but most of our troubles came from another individual, who seemed to be traveling with the Avatar by the looks of it,"

"Another individual, you say?" Azula raised an eyebrow. "And who is this individual, Lieutenant?"

Lieutenant Kaizu looked down at his feet, trying his best to remember the fight from yesterday. "… I couldn't tell you for sure, my princess. The Avatar and his two friends from the Water Tribe all matched their descriptions, but this other boy… I don't believe I've ever received any information regarding him. He looked like he was fourteen, fifteen at the most. His clothes were most unusual, nothing like what we've seen so far ever since we set foot here. I caught a glimpse of his appearance, and if I were to guess, I'd say he was probably born in one of our colonies here in the Earth Kingdom,"

Ozai's daughter broke eye contact with the man and turned her face to Mai. "It _is _rather curious, Lieutenant. Not so long ago, the three of us were in Omashu. The Avatar and his companions were there as well, and in an attempt to defy the rule of my father, he tried to kidnap the son of the governor, who is also the baby brother of my friend Mai here, and he would've succeeded had it not been for our intervention,"

"I-Is that so? How awful," Lieutenant Kaizu said before bowing his head at Mai. "It must've been a terrible experience for you, my lady. I hope you and your family have recovered from that ordeal,"

Mai rolled her eyes as if that whole thing had been a nuisance for her rather than anything else. "Whatever, it wasn't nearly as dramatic as it sounds,"

Unfazed by the words of Mai, Azula continued to talk. "Like I just said, we fought against the Avatar in Omashu and managed to return Mai's brother to safety. Yet, in all of that time, we never saw this person you're speaking of. Don't you think it's almost too convenient for this mysterious boy to appear right when you failed to perform your duty? It almost makes me think that you're lying, Lieutenant Kaizu,"

"What? No, I… Your Royal Highness, I am devoted to the glorious Fire Nation. I would never even dream of-"

"But you're not devoted to me, are you? How do I know you're telling me the truth?"

"Because…" Lieutenant Kaizu took a deep breath, carefully choosing his next words and praying to the Spirits they wouldn't be his lasts. "… Because despite all my flaws as a lieutenant, I still know what the consequences of lying to you would be, my princess,"

Azula smirked. That was exactly what she wanted to hear. As an expert on body language, Azula could tell the lieutenant was being truthful even before she began her questioning, but it never hurt to remind her subordinates how she was in control and how she decided their fate, as it was her right. "Good. Now, what else can you tell me about this boy?"

With his chest pounding like a drum, Lieutenant Kaizu answered her question as best as he could. "Before all of the fighting occurred, one of my men approached him and asked some questions. It didn't make much sense, but from what he gathered, the boy's name was apparently Shujinko Ozuma, and he called himself a 'shinobi' from the 'Hidden Leaf Village'. We have no idea what a shinobi is or where this Hidden Leaf Village is located, and neither do the locals here, so it's entirely possible that those two terms are part of a secret code we do not know of,"

"Was he any cute?" Ty Lee asked.

"Beg your pardon?" Lieutenant Kaizu asked back, blinking in utmost confusion and completely baffled by how unexpected and out of place the question was.

"I asked if he's any cute," Ty Lee repeated with an innocent smile. "I know we're chasing after the Avatar and all, but if the other team has cute boys, it makes things so much more exciting! So, was he any cute or not, mister?"

"I... don't believe I'm qualified to answer that,"

"Don't pay attention to my friend, she's not the one you have to answer to," Azula said, to which Ty Lee pouted. "Shujinko Ozuma, huh? I imagine he must be quite a bender if someone so young gave you and your men such a hard time,"

Lieutenant Kaizu furrowed his brow. "The thing is, we're not sure whether he's a bender or not. Neither my men nor myself recall ever seeing him perform any kind of bending during our skirmish,"

"Are you saying that this Shujinko was a bigger threat than you and your soldiers despite not being a bender?"

"Not quite, my princess. I'm saying that, if he has bending abilities, he didn't saw the need to use them against us. Despite his age, he was unbelievably fast and agile, even more so than the elite soldiers of our army. The way he moved, it was like seeing an experienced martial artist who couldn't be touched. He took down at least half of our forces on his own, and while the Avatar was there as well, almost every single one of my troops agree that he was the main cause of our defeat,"

Azula wasn't fully convinced that the so-called Shujinko had displayed such level of prowess. Being a genuine prodigy herself, she was more than aware of how quickly the average soldier was to label people as "prodigies" simply because they had natural skills that allowed them to stay slightly ahead of the curve. It was the result of being born and raised surrounded by mediocrity, so it was hardly a surprise that anything above said mediocrity was worthy of recognition in their eyes.

At the same time, if everything the lieutenant had said up to this point was accurate, Azula could draw a couple of conclusions. The boy he was talking about was most likely a non-bender trained from an early age in the art of hand-to-hand combat in order to make up for his lack of bending abilities. The combination of a ruthless training regime and a natural proficiency in martial arts could be an explanation as for how someone that young could defeat Fire Nation soldiers almost twice his age without having to use bending.

"Also, this weapon was found by one of my men," Lieutenant Kaizu said as he opened a chest and retrieved what seemed to be a small four-pointed star made out of metal with a hole in the middle. "The archer who gave it to me said that Shujinko had thrown this object seconds before he could take the shoot. It got embedded into his bow and made him lose his aim,"

Being an expert on the subject, Mai took the star from Lieutenant Kaizu's hand and stared at it, changing her attitude from bored to slightly interested. "I don't recognize this wrought, but I know for a fact that no one can throw this kind of weaponry effectively without years' worth of practice,"

Having seen what Mai was capable of doing with her weapons, Azula didn't have a hard time taking her word for it, and it supported the idea that Shujinko had no bending abilities. However, a martial artist _and _a marksman? Shujinko was starting to look more like an assassin of sorts, and Azula wouldn't consider his young age to be a factor that debunked this theory. She herself was considered to be the biggest Firebending prodigy in all of the Fire Nation with only fifteen years of age.

"Is there anything else?" Azula asked the lieutenant.

"… Well, I'm not sure how relevant this might be, but the soldier who tried to interrogate him said that the boy wore a strange metallic headband with an unknown symbol engraved into it. According to him, said symbol looked like this…" Lieutenant Kaizu handed Azula a sheet of paper from his desk, which depicted a swirl-like circle with a small triangle attached to its left side and a diagonal stroke sticking out of its right side. Azula had to admit she had never seen that symbol before, although its shape oddly reminded her of a leaf, which she supposed made reference to the Hidden Leaf Village that the boy said was the place he came from. "I happen to know the soldier who drew this. He's impulsive, but he has a good memory, and he was right in front of Shujinko when he noticed that symbol. That's all the information we have available,"

"Very well, then. It looks like our trip here wasn't a complete waste of valuable time, after all. I won't be taking away your rank today, Lieutenant Kaizu. I'm sure your ineptitude will take care of that sooner rather than later. Mai, Ty Lee, let's get going. We have a lot of work to do,"

Lieutenant Kaizu bowed deeply and didn't stop until the princess of the Fire Nation and her two friends were outside. The unexpected reunion went rather well, all things considered. Maybe he was still a low-ranking officer, but not many people in the army could brag about welcoming the daughter of the Fire Lord into their tent and having a personal conversation with her…

… Who cared about context, anyway?

* * *

|Several days later|

"Oh man, this is the life," Sokka moaned in pleasure.

After almost a week of going from one place to another, and camping in either forests or open fields, the adventurous group of teens found the perfect spot to spend their last day of travel before they reached Gaoling. It was already evening when Appa let out a long and boisterous yawn during mid-flight, letting his passengers know that he was getting tired. Not wanting to push his furred friend to his limits when there was no need, Aang announced that they would have to continue their journey tomorrow so that Appa could rest.

As they began their descent from the skies, Sokka caught sight of a big cloud of vapor coming from below. Upon coming closer to the source of the vapor, they realized they had come across a natural hot spring, and Sokka flat out _demanded _Aang to land there. The monk was happy to comply, as he was eager to explore the hot spring as well. Once they landed, Katara used her Waterbending to check the water's temperature and make sure it wasn't too hot. Once she deemed it was safe to take a bath there, the Avatar and the Water Tribe siblings took most of their clothes off and got into the large steaming pool.

"I can feel my flesh and bones melting away… and I'm completely fine with that," Sokka said in a relaxed tone of voice, resting his head on the edge.

"That makes us two, Sokka," Aang replied, enjoying every second of it. Since they spent most of their time traveling, training, or confronting Fire Nation soldiers, taking a warm bath without having to worry about anything was a luxury they rarely could afford.

"Shujinko, aren't you going to join us?" Katara asked. While everyone got undressed, Shujinko began to unload their tents and sleeping bags, without paying much attention to the hot spring.

"Sure, just give me a second. Shadow Clone Jutsu!" he exclaimed, and an identical copy of him appeared out of a puff of smoke. "I need you to scout the perimeter. Make sure there are no strangers or dangerous predators wandering around. If you have to dissipate yourself, wait until you're out of sight," The clone nodded in understanding and went on his way.

The oldest boy of the group let out a conflicted sigh. "It doesn't matter how many times I see that, I don't think I'll ever get used to it… Hey, now that I think about it, why do we still have to carry our bags around and raise our tents when you could have your clones do our chores? Wouldn't that make things a lot easier for us?"

"I'm not gonna' use Ninjutsu just so that you don't have to carry your bag, Sokka. It's not even that heavy," the Chunin replied as he took off his boots and removed his black wrist warmers and bandages that covered most of his forearms. Since everyone was wearing their underwear as bathing suits, he supposed he should do the same thing. Even Katara was wearing her white underwear, although the Water Tribe girl also wore an extra set of clothes that did a great job at covering her female attributes so that she wouldn't feel uncomfortable in the presence of other guys right now. "And besides, you can't be careless when it comes to Ninjutsu, especially the Shadow Clone Jutsu. It's a technique that can be deadly for you if you don't use it right,"

"Deadly? Why do you say that? We've seen you use it a couple of times already and nothing wrong has ever… happened… to you," Sokka trailed off. Both Aang and Katara saw the conflicted look on Sokka's face and turned their heads around to where Shujinko was, and they became silent as well.

Once he was left with only his black boxers and his golden feather necklace on, the Avatar, the waterbender, and the boomerang-wielding teen received a clear view of Shujinko's naked upper body. Even though they already knew Shujinko was a warrior back in his homeland, they never expected him to already have scars on his body at the age of fourteen. His right forearm, as well as the back of his right hand, sported several skin lines that varied in size and length, but they all seemed to follow the same pattern. The most notorious scar was a set of five shaky lines located between his belly button and the left side of his hips. They saw other scars on his biceps and calfs, but those were much easier to miss.

While Shujinko dipped his toes into the water to see how hot it was, Aang, Sokka, and Katara sat there, processing what they had just seen. Being the pacifistic airbender that he was, Aang didn't want to imagine the sort of violence Shujinko had been subjected to. He was aware that he had grown to be more sensitive than others towards conflict thanks to the monks and the way they had raised him, but the Avatar was sure that anyone with some sense of humanity would be disgusted by Shujinko's wounds and what they represented: The monstrous and vicious side of mankind.

Sokka had mixed feelings of awe and discomfort. He had seen his fair share of scars before when he was a kid during the days when the warriors of his tribe returned from battling the Fire Nation. The warrior side of him considered scars and other similar war wounds to be the marks of a tested fighter, and in a naïve kind of sense, he couldn't help but somewhat admire Shujinko for having them, as it proved that he had faced danger in the past and stood victorious in the end. However, when he started to think how painful it must've had been for the brown-haired teen to survive such injuries, Sokka shifted uncomfortably in his seat, and he realized he was unconsciously rubbing the same part of his stomach where Shujinko's five-pronged scar was.

Katara simply had no words. Just like her brother, she had seen scars before, but never on the body of a boy who shared her age. How could anyone be so brutal and heartless was beyond her. She had some doubts regarding the scars on Shujinko's forearm, as they could've been the result of an accident, but Katara was willing to bet her mother's necklace that the ones on his belly had been anything _but _an accident. Something, or someone, had injured Shujinko and nearly got him killed, because despite not being an expert on the subject, she could easily picture an adult dying from blood loss after suffering wounds of that degree… and Shujinko was just a teenager…

"Aaaah, that's so much better," Shujinko said after submerging his head into the water and slicking his wet hair back. Once his vision was clear, he saw three pairs of eyes staring at him, although none of them met his gaze. "Did I miss something? You guys were talking just fine like ten seconds ago,"

"It's nothing. We're just… enjoying the bath," Aang spat out the first excuse he could come up with before slowly sinking into the water, leaving only half of his face above. Seeing Shujinko's scarred body had left a bad taste in his mouth.

Shujinko then saw Katara turning her head away as soon as he searched for her gaze. When he tried to do the same with Sokka, he flinched and stared at the water, awkwardly pressing the corners of his mouth. 'What's up with them? Why are they so quiet all of a sudden?' Shujinko wondered. It obviously had something to do with him, but he hadn't done anything to deserve the silent treatment, had he?

Since no one wanted to talk any longer, he turned around, placed his arms on the surface of the hot earth and rested his head on them. Shujinko probably would've found the bath to be a lot more relaxing had it not been for the unexpected and pointless silence. It's not like he was dying to have a conversation with any of them, but it annoyed Shujinko not knowing what caused the sudden mood swing, if anything because it had something to do with him and he had yet to figure out what it was.

Twenty minutes later, they all got out of the water, shivering at the passing breezes after bathing in hot waters for a prolonged period of time. Katara used her Waterbending to remove the water from everyone, leaving them completely dry in a matter of seconds. They all got dressed and barely spoke to one another. Shujinko was starting to run out of patience, so he made a last-ditch attempt at maintaining the cohesion of the group. "I suppose we can spend the night here. The vapor might provide some cover for us if we don't stray too far. Who's gonna help me with the tents?"

"… Uuuh, I'd love to, but it's my turn to find enough wood so we can get a fire going and keep us warm," Sokka replied hastily, slowly walking away. The Ozuma couldn't believe how stupid of a lie Sokka's answer was. There were no trees anywhere near them, and why would Sokka want to make a fire when they were in a natural hot spring? The temperature of the place was high enough to make them sweat, so making a fire was utterly pointless. Heck, they could very well sleep without the tents tonight. Shujinko asked for help just to check their reactions.

Katara didn't hesitate to follow her brother's example. "I have to find a source of clean water that we can use to cook our dinner," the waterbender said. It sounded like a reasonable excuse since the water of the hot spring was unsafe for consumption, but Shujinko clearly recalled how two days ago she announced that they were running out of supplies again and that bread, vegetables, and fruit would have to make do until they reached Gaoling. None of those were required to go through a cooking process in order to be eaten, and they never bothered to make elaborated dishes with what they had since they didn't have the time or the interest for doing so.

Almost too predictable, Aang came up with his own pretext. "And I have to… Uhh, check Appa's ears. Yeah, that's it! He can't reach his ears by himself, so he needs me to scratch them because they sometimes itch, and when they itch, Appa needs me to-"

"Alright, that's it. Enough of this nonsense," Shujinko said all of a sudden, raising his voice so that he could be heard loud and clear. He didn't bother to allow Aang to finish, because whether it was a lie or not, it was more than obvious that he just wanted to get away. "Is any of you going to tell me what is going on? Why are you acting so weird?"

"Weird?" Sokka repeated. "Weird how?"

"Come on, don't play dumb with me. The moment I stepped into that water, you all suddenly became quiet and awkward for no reason. You think I didn't notice that?" Shujinko asked. He wasn't furious or anything, he just didn't like it when people weren't being honest and then tried to feign ignorance in front of him. "Look, if you don't want to tell me something, I won't force you to do otherwise, but don't expect me to buy your act. I'm not an idiot,"

"We've never thought of you as an idiot, Shujinko," Aang said, worried to have offended the Chunin. "It's just that… Well, we…"

"It's just that we don't really know anything about you," Katara finished what Aang couldn't say.

That answer caught Shujinko off guard. "What do you mean you don't know anything about me? Haven't I already told you who I am, where I come from and what I can do?"

"Well, yeah, but… We don't know anything else. We know where you're from and what you can do, but as for you as a person, the only thing we know is your name. It's not exactly easy to talk about certain topics when we have almost no idea of how you're going to react,"

The Ozuma opened his mouth but found himself unable to retort. Katara was right, he hadn't exactly shared much of his personal information. Sure, he had talked to Aang about the Ozuma clan and how they had been wiped out just like the Air Nomads, but there was a difference between talking about the history of your family and talking about yourself.

Over the last few days, Shujinko's interactions with the group had been mostly limited to what should they do next and who was in charge of what. For the most part, he didn't try to start a conversation with them or participate in an already ongoing discussion. He would answer almost every time he was being asked something, and he avoided being rude to them since they didn't deserve it, but Shujinko simply didn't want to open up to them or reveal much about himself. It required some effort from his part, because under most circumstances, Shujinko considered himself to be a pretty normal guy who didn't have much trouble socializing. In fact, if the roles were reversed and Aang, Katara, and Sokka found themselves lost in the shinobi continent, Shujinko was fairly certain he would've befriended them already.

Unfortunately, he was the one who had arrived here, not the other way around. The golden-eyed boy wanted and needed to return home. Everything would've been so much easier if Aang, Katara, and Sokka were ninjas just like him, because that way they would understand his position and his reluctance to develop deeper bonds. It wasn't that he wouldn't have wanted to, he just couldn't afford to. The Water Tribe siblings weren't following Aang only because they wanted to stop the Fire Lord, they did it because the three of them were close friends. Shujinko admired them for their bravery and wanted them to succeed, but that would most likely take years, and the young shinobi had no intention whatsoever to abandon his village or the people he cared for.

However, in the meantime, he was part of their group now, and he was beginning to realize that his shinobi mentality of putting his feelings aside and refusing to truly integrate wasn't going to make them trust him. Shinobis or not, Shujinko knew that no group of people who shared a common goal would truly function as a team if there was no trust, and the Chunin knew he hadn't done much to earn theirs. Or rather, he had been trying to, but he went about it the wrong way by trying to demonstrate that he was useful and cooperative, and while his contributions were appreciated, they hardly made him relatable, and why would any of them trust someone they couldn't relate to?

Once his epiphany was over, Shujinko finally noticed Sokka's hand waving in front of his face. "… Hello, Earth to Shujinko? Guys, I think too much hot water went inside his head. He should've covered his ears when he-"

"I'm fine!" Shujinko exclaimed a bit too loud. Even Momo, who was enjoying a bath in a puddle of water from the hot springs, opened his eyes to see what was going on. "… Sorry for that, I just… I don't like it when people stand too close to me,"

Not a complete lie given how ninjas were raised to keep their distance when dealing with strangers, but Shujinko's shock came from the fact that he had been distracted enough for Sokka to stand right in front of his nose without him realizing it. His thoughts about his current situation with the group were clouding his mind, and he knew things couldn't go on like this.

"Listen, I know that… Ugh, Aang, can you please push some of the vapor away from us? It's annoying to talk when I can barely breathe,"

"Sure thing," the Avatar replied before waving his staff and releasing a gust of wind that took most of the vapor away, clearing their surroundings.

"Thank you. As I was saying, I… Look, I know I haven't been exactly open towards you. And I apologize for calling you out earlier when I had no right to do so. It's just that… It's not easy to deal with all of this. I arrived at a place I didn't even know it existed, and likewise, the people I've met so far don't know anything about the Five Great Shinobi Nations. I have no idea how did I get here or how I'm supposed to return to my village. It may sound stupid to you, but I almost feel like I'm in a completely different world,"

"I know what you're talking about," the monk said, giving Shujinko a compassionate look. "When I woke up at the South Pole, I couldn't believe what was happening. Almost everything was different from what I remembered, and I didn't want to accept it until I was forced to. Trust me, if anyone here understands what you're going through, it's me,"

The Chunin shook his head. "No, you don't understand. Even if everything around you had changed, you could still recognize this world for what it was and the people here can still recognize you for who you are, but me? I'm as foreign to this place as you can get. I might as well come from another reality or something. Honestly, I'm surprised that we even speak the same language,"

Aang bowed his head a little, feeling sorry for the boy in front of him. It had to be awful to find yourself so far from home without knowing how or when you were going to return. When he woke up, Aang could barely believe how much his world had changed, but regardless, it was still _his _world. Shujinko didn't even know where he was standing. He knew it wasn't his fault, but the monk wished he could help Shujinko the way he helped him before.

After a minute of silence, the brown-haired teen let out a long sigh and did his best to regain his composure. "In any case, I suppose the only thing I can do right now is to keep moving forward, and to do that, I need your help… What I'm trying to say… Is that from here on out, I want to become part of this team, and I mean _really _become part of this team. I no longer want to be the guy who's tagging along and contributing out of necessity. Going back to my village is my number one priority, but even so, I don't want to think of you guys as traveling companions any longer, but as comrades instead. It might be the only way to make this work. So… What do you say?"

Despite himself, Shujinko couldn't help but feel his cheeks growing slightly red. After being so professional and purposefully keeping his distance with Aang, Katara, and Sokka, exposing this side of him was particularly embarrassing and corny. Had Kiba been there to hear him speak, the boy from the Inuzuka clan would've undoubtedly laughed at him and crack a joke at his expense.

However, the awkwardness faded away when he saw Aang placing a hand on his shoulder, smiling widely. "I don't know why it took you so long to ask, but you can be sure we're gonna do anything we can to help you find your home. You can count on us. Isn't that right, Sokka, Katara?"

Just like Aang, Katara approached Shujinko and placed her hand on his other shoulder, giving him a smile so caring and honest that, for a brief second, Shujinko could've sworn he was staring at his own mother Masumi. "Of course he can. You might not be from this part of the world, but that doesn't mean we can't help you out. We're glad to have you with us, Shujinko,"

"Okay, okay, let's tone down all of this sweetness before I get a cavity," Sokka said. Upon seeing the looks he was receiving, he held his hands in mock surrender. "Geez, it was just a joke, alright? You're a pretty okay guy, Shujinko. Kinda' weird, but still okay. Welcome to Team Avatar,"

Shujinko didn't know what to say. The support and affection shown by those three was so genuine that a tiny knot was beginning to form inside his throat. It almost felt like he was in Team 7 during the days when Naruto, Sakura, and even Sasuke had his back. Despite being as far away from the village as he had never been before in his life, knowing that Aang, Katara, and Sokka had accepted him into their group and were willing to help him in any way possible made Shujinko feel at home, and for the first time in days, he enjoyed a moment of inner peace.

"I… Thanks, guys. This means a lot to me,"

"No problem… Soooo, now that we're all buddy buddies with one another, can you please tell us how you got those scars?

"Sokka, honestly!" Katara exclaimed, shocked by her brother's bluntness and lack of tact.

"What? Don't give me that look, sis. You were wondering the same thing, weren't you?"

The waterbender let out an irritated groan. Of course, she wanted to know about Shujinko's scars as well, but was it really that difficult for Sokka to wait for a more proper occasion before asking such a thing? Katara loved her big brother, but sometimes his inappropriate attitude just drove her insane.

"You saw my scars? That was what made you go quiet?" Shujinko asked. He hadn't considered that possibility, mainly because the scars on his body had become such a common sight for him that he barely paid any attention to them. Despite how they looked, they didn't hurt nor did they slow him down, so it was easy for Shujinko to forget that he had them.

At the same time, it made him wonder how much violence and destruction the three of them had truly experienced. For a group of teens that claimed to be against the war and everything it stood for, they didn't seem like they had seen a whole lot of it if the sight of a bunch of scars was enough to silence them. Had he presented himself to Aang, Sokka, and Katara with a missing arm or a missing leg, then he would've understood their reaction, but the cicatrized marks on his body were hardly a big deal in the shinobi world. If they ever saw Ibiki's head…

"You don't have to tell us about them I you don't want to," Aang was quick to respond.

"Don't worry, I don't mind talking about them… But we should leave that for another time. It's getting late and we all need to get some sleep for tomorrow. How about this? Ask me something else, and if it's not too much of a hassle, I'll gladly answer your question. You deserve at least that much,"

"… Actually, there is one thing I would like to know. All of us, in fact," Katara began to say. "What is that headband and why do you wear it all of the time?"

Shujinko smiled as he pointed at his headband with his thumb. At least this was easy enough to explain. "This kind of headband is worn by almost every ninja. It represents our affiliation to our villages and we must have it at all time with us. I got mine when I graduated from the Academy and finally became a shinobi. The symbol that you're seeing is the symbol of the Hidden Leaf Village, my home," The Water Tribe siblings seemed to accept his answer without much trouble. The Avatar, however, was a different story. At first, he furrowed his brow in deep thought, as if he was recalling something from the past. Then, a gasp escaped from his lips as he gawked, making a fairly accurate imitation of a koi fish. "Aang, are you ok-"

"It all makes sense now!" Aang exclaimed, much to Shujinko's befuddlement. "This has to be the vision I saw in the swamp!"

"What vision? What swamp?" Shujinko asked before addressing Katara and Sokka. "Guys, do you know what Aang is talking about?"

With a very agitated voice, Aang began to explain how they ended up lost inside a huge swamp before reaching Gi Yuin Village. While in that swamp, the three of them experienced different visions of loved ones they had lost at some point in their lives. The Ozuma was heartbroken to hear that Katara had seen her mother while Sokka had seen a princess named Yue, a girl with whom he shared a brief but meaningful relationship not too long ago. Both women had been taken away from them thanks to the Fire Nation, and Shujinko realized that both Sokka and Katara had suffered the effects of war, regardless of how little or how much they had seen of it.

Aang, however, experienced something different. He saw a young girl whom he had never seen before, laughing and playing with a Flying Boar ('Of course, because a Flying Bison just isn't enough here,' Shujinko thought sarcastically). Then, he saw several leaves made out of metal falling from above before they were swiftly blown away by the wind. The three youngsters gathered shortly after, met the 'guardian of the swamp' who explained their visions to them, befriended a group of locals who helped them find Appa, and eventually left the swamp before deciding to stop at Gi Yuin Village for supplies, which was where they found Shujinko.

"… And now that you've told us about your headband, it's all beginning to add up. Those leaves made out of metal that I saw in the swamp were your headband all along, which means that you were one of my visions, Shujinko. We didn't run into each other by accident. I was supposed to meet you at some point,"

"Aang, I'm not really sure about all this," Shujinko said, wrinkling his nose. "I've never been much of a believer when it comes to visions or prophecies. What you saw in that swamp could mean anything. I'm not saying you're wrong, but that vision of yours sounds rather… ambiguous. Don't you think our meeting was just a coincidence?"

"Hey, I don't believe in visions or prophecies either, but even I can tell this is almost too much of a coincidence," Sokka replied. "I mean, Aang saw a vision of leaves made out of metal. Then, we bump into you, a guy with weird powers that no one else, including the Avatar, has. And now, you tell us that the symbol carved into the _metal _of your headband represents the Hidden _Leaf _Village. What are the odds of that?"

The golden-eyed teen opened his mouth to retort, but the only thing that came out of it was a short grunt of discomfort. His head was starting to spin, and not because of the high temperature of the place. As much as he hated to admit it, this whole thing about Aang's vision and his arrival to this part of the world certainly had a feeling of destiny to it. However, Shujinko was very skeptical about things like destiny, as he didn't like the idea of his future being written on stone. "You know what? I don't want to think about this. I'm just beginning to understand how this part of the world works, so throwing weird visions out there isn't going to help me right now. I hope you can understand,"

Shortly after, Shujinko's shadow clone returned to the hot springs, informing the group of a safe place nearby where they could sleep. Upon arriving to said place, they found enough sticks had been gathered by the shadow clone for them to start a decent fire. Sokka took care of that while Katara prepared the last of their provisions. Shujinko participated in their conversation and joined them in their laughter, showing a side of him that Aang, Sokka, and Katara never thought they would ever see in him. The foreign boy was, in fact, a lot more likable than what he had made himself out to be at the beginning of their journey together.

When everyone else decided to go to sleep, Shujinko decided to stay awake a little longer, wishing his companions a good night. Once he was alone, the smile on his face faded away, and his narrowed gaze became fixated on the fire.

If what Aang had recently told him was true, then his vision had foretold his arrival. Why? What kind of impact was his presence here supposed to deliver? Because he didn't just run into a group of random teens that happened to be traveling around the world, he met the Avatar, maybe the most famous and legendary being across these lands. No, this could not be a coincidence, nor it could be due to chance or dumb luck. There had to be a reason as to why he was here, but until he regained his memory, he had no other choice but to keep his head up and do what ninjas were best at: Adapt and survive.

'At least I'm not alone in this,' Shujinko thought as he threw dirt at the fire until it was gone. He climbed on top of Appa and didn't bother to use the spare blankets; the weather was so warm and cozy that there was no need for them.

As he stared at the stars, Shujinko tried his best to avoid thinking about his village. Every time he did, he always ended up feeling sad, as he missed his family, friends, and sensei a great deal. If he could only deliver a message there telling them where he was and how he was trying his hardest to return. He wasn't worried about being branded a deserter because Ino's dad would use his mind techniques on him to search for his memories, and Inoichi would vouch for him the moment he realized the absolutely insane circumstances he had found himself in. At least he didn't have to worry about that.

'Mom, Dad, Nanami, Kakashi-sensei, everyone… I'm still alive. Just wait for me a bit longer. I'm doing everything I can to return… Just wait, please…'

* * *

Aaaaaaaand that was chapter 5. Hope you all enjoyed it.

Again, lots of talks, virtually no action… Look, I really understand that chapters like these can be boring. You have every right to have that opinion. However, I feel like these deep and long conversations were needed, and I couldn't find a way to put an action scene without messing with the mood. At least Azula made her introduction, and writing her was truly engaging for me, so hopefully, it was engaging for you as well.

Next episode we have the introduction of Toph, and boy do I want her to meet Shujinko. Action will be guaranteed in the next episode, as we have finally caught up with the original A:TLA storyline.

Also, today is my birthday, so you're welcome to show me some love in the reviews. If you don't care about that and wish to give this story valid criticism, be my guest.

Peace!


	6. Chapter 6 (part 1)

**CHAPTER 6: THE BLIND BANDIT (PART 1)**

* * *

(Disclaimer: Avatar The Last Airbender belongs to Nickelodeon and Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. I only own my OC's)

(PLEASE READ: THIS IS NOT A SEQUEL TO "SHUJINKO: THE FOURTH MEMBER", BUT A DIFFERENT STORY WITH SHUJINKO AS THE MAIN CHARACTER. THIS STORY WILL NOT HAVE ANY EFFECT WHATSOEVER IN "SHUJINKO SHIPPUDEN". I REPEAT, THIS IS NOT A SEQUEL TO SHUJINKO'S ORIGINAL STORY)

Summary: One night, a stranger breaks into Shujinko's house and tries to steal one of the most mystical objects in the history of the Ozuma clan: The Eye of Kazemaru. When Shujinko tries to stop him, the two of them activate an ancient and forgotten power of the gem by accident, which sends them to another dimension where a certain bald-headed monk has to master the four elements in order to defeat the evil Fire Lord. What kind of impact will Shujinko's presence have in the Avatar universe? Who is this stranger and what does he want? Get ready for one wild space-time adventure

* * *

Gaoling was quite the exotic city, Shujinko had to admit.

Unlike Gi Yuin Village, which resembled the less developed towns that could be found in the Land of Fire, Gaoling was definitely foreign to him. It wasn't as technologically advanced as the Hidden Leaf Village and there were no signs of a military system designed to protect the city, aside from the few guards here and there, who were most likely hired by private individuals or entities that had no connection to the local government. Shujinko, being raised as a shinobi from the Hidden Leaf, found this to be rather odd, careless, and unpractical. It probably had something to do with the fact that the Fire Nation would respond aggressively to any signs of insurgency in the Earth Kingdom.

That being said, Gaoling seemed to be doing just fine. A lot better than Gi Yuin Village, that was for sure. There were lots of houses, markets, buildings, a couple of parks, and stores that offered a wide variety of items. Shujinko saw plenty of people with different economic and social standing, from impoverished beggars to average breadwinners, and even a few men and women who most likely belonged to the local upper-class. The Ozuma was thankful to Katara for giving him his current Earth Kingdom outfit, as his previous clothes would've certainly caught a handful of stares here in Gaoling.

What shocked Shujinko the most about the city was how there were Earthbending schools. Any earthbender who could afford the price was accepted into any of these schools, regardless of their age, background, and intentions. For Kami's sake, he even came across a couple of individuals who were loudly promoting their respective Earthbending academies and handing out vouchers to whoever was interested.

This was so bizarre that Shujinko didn't know where to even begin. Something like that would never, ever, _ever _happen in his village or in any shinobi village for that matter. It became abundantly clear to Shujinko that bending and Ninjutsu were treated completely different. Unlike benders, ninjas were never born. They were made. Even children who were born inside a shinobi clan weren't considered to be ninjas until they graduated, and to do so, they had to join the Academy at a young age and develop enough skills to cover the basics over time. Once they became Genins, they had to pledge their lives to the village and swear to make use of their abilities only to benefit the Hidden Leaf. Even after retirement, ninjas were expected to uphold the Will of Fire in their hearts.

But here, all you had to do in order to learn Earthbending was to be born with the ability to do so and finding someone willing to teach you. It was dangerously casual, as he who succeeded at learning Earthbending but failed to learn a set of morals and community-oriented principles could easily become a threat to others. At least the Air Nomads' culture used to revolve around Airbending and followed a steady set of beliefs, as well as a way of life that ensured group cohesion. He knew he was in no position to criticize, but from Shujinko's perspective, these people were treating Earthbending as a fancy toy, and it rubbed him the wrong way.

In any case, Aang needed to find an instructor so he could get at least some basic Earthbending training. According to Aang, he had to find a teacher who "waited and listened to the earth"… whatever that meant. They visited an academy that offered newcomers a free first lesson, and since they had nothing to lose, the young monk decided to give it a try. Meanwhile, Shujinko, Katara, and Sokka were waiting for him outside. Once the lesson was over, they greeted Aang, who was wearing a uniform that had been kindly provided to him by the school.

"How was it, Aang? Was this teacher any good?" Katara asked.

Aang shook his head. "Nah, he's not the one I'm looking for," he replied. He didn't consider Master Yu to be a completely inept teacher, but he highly doubted that someone who was willing to bump him up to the next belt if he paid in advance for a month's worth of lessons was the kind of person he wanted to learn Earthbending from.

"Well, at least we don't have to worry about this place anymore. There are plenty of other schools we can check out," Sokka suggested.

"To tell you the truth, I don't think visiting other schools is such a great idea. What Aang needs is a personal teacher, one that can focus his or her attention solely on you," Shujinko chimed in.

The Avatar stared at him curiously. "Do you really think so, Shujinko?"

"I know so. Back in the Hidden Leaf Village, our class was split into groups of three, or in my case, four. Once we graduated, my group was assigned to a Jounin, a high-level shinobi that acted as our sensei. A sensei is… well, I guess you could call him a mentor of sorts, one that helps you improve your skills and acts as the leader of the team during whatever mission we participated in,"

Katara, Aang, and Sokka listened to Shujinko with rabid attention. Despite not being a bender himself, the Ozuma did know the importance of a good teacher, and it was always interesting to hear more about the Hidden Leaf Village and the way it worked. Slowly but surely, Shujinko was opening himself up to them, something which the trio appreciated greatly. "And who is your sensei, Shujinko?" Katara asked.

"My sensei is a man called Kakashi Hatake. He's lazy, he rarely shows up on time, and his taste in literature is questionable at best. But even so, he's incredibly strong and smart, and I never would've improved as much as I have had it not been for his guidance… Anyways, my point is that whoever teaches Aang Earthbending has to be someone who directs their attention to him and him only. It may sound a bit selfish, but we're talking about ending a war here. Besides, if you enter a school in this place, we'll have to stay here as you attend your lessons, which would inevitably delay our travels,"

It was hard to argue against Shujinko's logic. Team Avatar was constantly going from one place to another, either because of the Fire Nation or because of unexpected issues that forced them to move, and sometimes because of both. If experience had taught them anything, it was that their stay here in Gaoling would most likely not last very long. "But then, how am I supposed to find an Earthbending teacher?"

Shujinko shrugged his shoulders. "Beats me. And hey, if you managed to get a ninja to join you, I'm certain you can find an earthbender willing to do the same thing,"

Just then, two teens walked by, wearing the same Earthbending uniform as Aang's. "I'm telling you, The Boulder is gonna dominate the Earth Rumble VI. They might as well give him the belt before the tournament even begins," one of them said.

"I don't know, man. He's gonna have to go up against The Blind Bandit. She's not the current champion because of nothing,"

Aang's ears perked up in interest. "Hey, do you know where this tournament is taking place?"

The two teens turned around and gave the bald boy a mocking smirk. "Sure we do. It's in the island of Nonya'… Nonya' business!"

After laughing at their own joke, the two numbskulls began to walk away, leaving a ridiculed Aang behind. "Ha! Oh! That was… Island of Nonya'… Nonya' business! Oh boy, I gotta' write that one down," Sokka exclaimed hysterically, wiping away a tear from his eye. Shujinko could hardly believe Sokka was into that kind of stupid humor. It reminded him of Kizashi Haruno, who was Sakura's father, as well as a man who was notorious for his crappy puns that barely made any sense at all.

"Don't worry about it, Aang. I'll handle this," Katara said, eyes shining with determination. If those two idiots thought they could get away with embarrassing her friend, they had another thing coming to them.

"Actually, do you mind if I take this one, Katara? I think I know how to get them to cooperate," Shujinko said. After Katara nodded in consent, Shujinko followed the two boys to a nearby alley, away from the sight of his group. "Hey, you two over there. Where do you think you're going?"

The two boys turned around, eyeing at Shujinko suspiciously. "What do you want, punk? You need directions as well?" the one with the Mohawk haircut asked.

"My friend asked you a question, and you were quite rude to him. That wasn't very kind, now was it?"

"Maybe. What are you gonna do about it, huh?" the other guy with spiky brown hair retorted.

Shujinko took a couple of steps forward until the two earthbenders were at arm's length. "Here's the deal: You tell me where and when this Earth Rumble IV thing is taking place, and then we can all go about our business as if nothing ever happened. There's no need to make this complicated. What do you say?"

Both adolescents blinked before bursting into laughter while Shujinko patiently waited for them to stop. "Did you hear that, Yonri?" the boy with the spiky brown hair asked. "This complete nobody thinks he can just boss us around,"

"Oh, I heard him alright," the guy with the gray mohawk, now identified as Yonri, replied. He then made the terrible mistake of grabbing Shujinko by the collar of his shirt. "Looks like someone needs to be taught a lesson, Monkon. Should we start with a wedgie or a noogie?"

"I say we put that new Earthbending technique from Master Yu to the test. I bet this loser would love to have his underwear filled with rocks. Isn't that right, loser?" Before either of them could decide what to do first, Shujinko grabbed Yonri's wrist, made him turn around, and used his free hand to get a hold of Yonri's hair while placing himself behind him, effectively restraining the loudmouthed bully and forcing him to kneel. "H-Hey! What are you doing? Let me go!" Yonri demanded, only to squeal in pain when Shujinko twisted his wrist a little bit.

"Didn't I tell you there was no need to make things complicated?" the Ozuma asked, measuring his strength very carefully. Even if Yonri was a douchebag, he didn't deserve to have his wrist broken as far as Shujinko was aware, so he was just going to rough him up a little. Meanwhile, his buddy Monkon was gawking like a fool, too shocked to react. "Maybe next time you'll show better manners when someone asks you a question,"

"Monkon, help me!" Yonri shouted. His friend finally came to his senses and tried to get closer to Shujinko, but the Chunin took a step back and took Yonri with him.

"If you want to help your friend, answer my question from earlier and I'll let him go. Refuse, and I'll snap your wrist after I snap his. Trust me, I'm more than capable of doing so," Shujinko began to twist Yonri's wrist a second time just in case they needed more convincing. He didn't like to resort to these kinds of methods just to get basic information from civilians, but to be fair, he did try to reason with them before using force, and hopefully, this would help them learn to never underestimate anyone, especially a stranger.

Monkon got his hands up, motioning Shujinko to stop. "Okay, okay! I'll tell you what you want to know! The Earth Rumble VI will take place today at midnight. It's being held in an underground cave just outside of town. Now let Yonri go!"

Shujinko raised an eyebrow. "A tournament being held in an underground cave? That sounds a bit strange, don't you think?"

"It's the truth! The people who discovered that cave built an arena inside of it, with seats and everything. Ask anyone and they'll tell you the same thing,"

"… Alright, I guess I'll have to take your word for it," Shujinko said before releasing Yonri, who stumbled as he got away. "See? That wasn't so hard. Have a great day, partners," the golden-eyed teen turned around and walked away, looking over his shoulder right before disappearing out of their sight. "And in case you're wondering, my name is Putsom… Putsom ice on that wrist,"

* * *

|Earth Rumble IV Arena|

As it turned out, the tournament was indeed being held inside an underground cave, and a huge one at that. After following a large crowd of people outside the city and waiting in line for two hours, the group of travelers finally managed to enter the cave where the event was taking place, and it was certainly an impressive sight to behold.

The arena consisted of a large fighting ring shaped like a rectangle that was built a few feats above the lower ground, meaning that whoever fell off the edge of the ring would not only suffer defeat but a short fall as well. There were two towers and a small building where the organizers and the staff members of the event took care of business. The participants were ordered to wait in a specific area of the stadium, where they were forbidden from interacting with the other fighters in order to avoid possible hoaxes and uncompetitive agreements. The rest of the structure had been used to build as many stone bleachers as possible so that the whole place had enough room for all the spectators.

The last time Shujinko had seen this amount of people gathered in one place was when he participated in the third part of the Chunin Exams, and he had to admit that all the energy and hype in the air was rather contagious, to the point where he was actually feeling kind of excited. Due to his shinobi lifestyle, Shujinko spent most of his days either training or taking part in missions, and he used whatever free time he had to rest and socialize with his friends and family members. Recreational activities such as picking up an instrument or learning how to properly paint were quite difficult for most ninjas since they simply did not have enough time on their hands, and in the end, it was much more important for ninjas to improve their abilities than acquiring new hobbies.

Shujinko was no exception, which was why doing something such as attending a tournament as a spectator felt like a breath of fresh air. He only needed to pay attention to the matches and see whether if any of the participants had what it took to become Aang's Earthbending teacher, although he wasn't quite sure if his input would be of any help all things considered.

"Hey, look! Front row seats!" Sokka exclaimed as he sat down on the first set of stone bleachers, followed by the rest of Team Avatar. "How come we're the only ones sitting down here? This view is amazing!"

BAAAAAM

The answer came in the form of a huge rock crashing almost next to where they were sitting, having being thrown by one of the contestants during the last battle of the preliminaries. "I guess that's why," Aang said in a flat tone of voice. Still, the Avatar insisted that he wanted to see the matches as closely as possible, and given how there weren't many seats available in the upper section of the stadium, they had no other choice but to stay put and be on the lookout for any other incoming rocks.

Soon after the preliminaries were over, an individual with long black hair and big muscles showed up in the middle of the stage. "Ladies and gentleman, welcome to Earth Rumble VI! My name is Xin Fu, the host of the biggest, most exciting tournament in all of the Earth Kingdom. Are you ready!?" Xin Fu roared, making the crowd go wild. His voice was so loud and potent that Shujinko thought Xin Fu had a megaphone for a mouth. "The rules are simple: Whoever gets thrown out of the ring loses the match. Only two combatants will be allowed to fight at a time, and they can only use Earthbending or any style of martial arts they desire, as long as no other kind of bending is involved,"

Once the instructions had been informed to the public, the Ozuma couldn't help but notice how Xin Fu failed to mention what would happen if one of the contestants threw in the towel. Did the combatants had the opportunity to give up during the middle of a fight or were they forced to continue until the bitter end? Even those who took part in the Chunin Exams were allowed to call it quits in most instances. Shujinko supposed this tournament had an unspoken rule regarding that issue, or so he hoped.

"Now, allow me to introduce to you our new challenger," Xin Fu announced. "In this corner, with an ongoing streak of perfect victories from our latest matches and an unquenchable desire for glory, we have The Boulder!"

A man suddenly landed on the ring, letting out a deafening roar that got his fans riled up. The Boulder had dark skin and had his black hair done in a bun. His body could easily be described as a small mountain of muscles, and while his nickname was a bit dumb in Shujinko's opinion, it was definitely fitting. The physique of The Boulder caught his attention, for it was quite rare to meet a shinobi with a similar body type. In most cases, bulky muscles hindered someone's speed and stealth, so most ninjas often aimed to have a balanced body that provided them with agility and strength in equal measure.

"In this other corner, weighing over 400 pounds of sheer brute force, we have The Big Bad Hippo!"

Another competitor walked into the ring and came face to face with The Boulder. This time, Shujinko's jaw nearly dropped. Unlike The Boulder, who was all muscles, The Hippo was all fat. No, seriously, Choji and Jirobo were _scrawny _compared to this guy. The fact that he only had four teeth and wore green, diaper-like underwear made The Hippo look like a grumpy giant baby. Regardless of that, his imposing size alone was enough to strike fear into the heart of most of his adversaries and The Hippo knew it, which was why he stood with his arms and legs spread out in order to appear more intimidating.

Once Xin Fu left the stage, the trash talk between The Boulder and The Hippo began. "Listen closely, Hippo. You may be big, but you're not bad. The Boulder is going to squash you like a bug!"

The Hippo's reply was just as witty as Shujinko expected it to be. "Hippo mad!" he shouted, displaying a level of eloquence that belonged to that of a caveman. The spectators quickly began to cheer and urged Xin Fu to start the fight as soon as possible. Some of them approached the staff members in charge of the gambling and placed their last-minute bets on their favorite candidates.

Katara let out an uninterested sigh as she stared at her nails. "Let me guess: We're about to see two overly-manly men act like a pair of Goat Gorillas chucking rocks at each other. Is this really what we paid to watch?"

"You bet it is! Talk about money well spent, am I right?" her brother said, barely able to contain his own excitement.

"In any case, let's just not forget the reason why we're here," Shujinko replied, amused by how opposite the siblings' reactions were from one another. "With some luck, we might find Aang's Earthbending teacher tonight,"

The sound of a ringing bell signaled the start of the fight, and The Boulder was the first to react. In order to test his opponent's toughness, he tore off a big chunk of rock from the ground and threw it at The Hippo's stomach, who took the impact without so much as a flinch. He even caught a few pieces of rock with his bare teeth, chew them, and spat them back out.

Without wasting any time, The Hippo began to jump left and right, using his weight and his style of Earthbending to shake the ring, a move which Xin Fu called "rocking the boat". How someone so big, fat, and heavy could jump on his own like that was beyond Shujinko. The Boulder lost his footing and staggered backwards until he found himself near the edge, but just when he was about to fall, he created a slab of earth to regain his balance.

The Boulder then proceeded to hurl the same slab of earth at The Hippo, who made the unforgivable mistake of turning his back on his opponent before the fight had ended. The projectile struck the target's back and skull with enough force to make him fall face-first to the ground, but The Boulder didn't stop there. In an astonishing display of strength, The Boulder lifted the earth around The Hippo and raised both of them several feet into the air before throwing them out of the ring. The bells rang again and Xin Fu declared the end of the fight, with The Boulder standing as the winner.

"How about The Boulder, Aang?" Katara asked. "He looks like he knows his Earthbending,"

Aang wrinkled his nose. "I'm not really sure. The Boulder is good and all, but Bumi said I had to look for a teacher who waited and listened to the earth. He only seems to listen to his muscles. Sokka, what do you think?"

"Woo-hoo! Yeaah! The Boulder's gonna' beat everyone! EVERYONE!"

'So Aang's Earthbending teacher has to be someone who waits and listens to the earth? What kind of criteria is that?' Shujinko wondered. Unless it was a riddle of sorts, the golden-eyed teen couldn't figure out how they were supposed to find someone who did just that when not even themselves fully understood the meaning of waiting and listening to the earth.

"What's your opinion, Shujinko? Do you think The Boulder would make a good Earthbending teacher for me?"

Aang's question interrupted Shujinko's train of thought. He turned his head to the side and raised both of his eyebrows in mild surprise. "Why do you want my opinion? I barely know anything about Earthbending,"

"Yeah, but you told me I needed to find a personal teacher of my own, and you've had one for years now, so you must know what qualities a teacher has to have, right?"

Shujinko rubbed his chin as he tried to come up with an answer. From his perspective, having a teacher and having a sensei were two different things. A teacher would teach students what they wanted to know, but a sensei would teach students what they needed to know. The reason why Shujinko saw Kakashi as a mentor rather than an instructor or a coach was because the Jounin had taught him more than just Ninjutsu: He had received life lessons from Kakashi, and he always tried to uphold the values his sensei had instilled into him. Shujinko wasn't sure if that was what the Avatar was looking for.

Knowing that this was hardly the time or the place to discuss the philosophical differences between a teacher and a sensei, Shujinko chose to give Aang a generic answer in order to keep things neutral. "I guess so, but it's still too early to decide. If I was you, I would pay attention to the rest of the fighters, but don't dismiss The Boulder as an option just yet," The Avatar had a hard time believing that The Boulder was the kind of teacher Bumi would've wanted him to learn Earthbending from, but he nevertheless acknowledged Shujinko's input by nodding his head in understanding.

The second fight started soon after, although calling it a 'fight' was a tad bit generous. The Boulder was paired against someone whose nickname was The Fire Nation Man. His nickname alone earned him loud boos from almost everyone who was present ("Go back to the Fire Nation, you clown!" Sokka shouted at the top of his lungs), and honestly, Shujinko wanted to boo at him as well for coming up with such a lame an uncreative moniker. In any case, as soon as the match started, The Fire Nation Man got on one knee and asked the crowd to sing the Fire Nation anthem along with him.

Needless to say, it didn't go well for him. The lower half of The Fire Nation Man's body was buried underground after The Boulder stomped his foot on the stone surface. While The Boulder raised the earth beneath his feet, the trapped fool begged for mercy, but none was granted as The Boulder jumped down from his column. All of the impact caused by The Boulder's thunderous landing was aimed at The Fire Nation Man, who was sent flying into the air like a rock thrown by a catapult. The whole thing ended in less than a minute.

The Boulder went on to reach the finals after pulverizing every single competitor who stood in his way. None of them had been able to give him a decent fight as The Boulder would overpower his opponents with almost no difficulty whatsoever. Ironically, the more he saw of The Boulder's evident prowess in Earthbending, the more convinced Aang became of his initial assessment: The Boulder wasn't the teacher Aang was looking for. He was too arrogant, too much of a meathead, and his Earthbending seemed to rely on nothing but brute force.

"And now, the moment you've all been waiting for. The main event, the final match between the champion and the challenger, is here at long last!" Xin Fu shouted, making the audience go wild. The Avatar's shoulders slumped in disappointment. There was only one fight left, and so far, none of the combatants had been very convincing. It almost felt like a complete waste of time. "The Boulder has proven himself to be a mighty earthbender, but let's see if he has what it takes to become the best of the best. Ladies and gentlemen, I want a loud welcome for our reigning champion: The Blind Bandit!"

Much to Team Avatar's surprise, Earth Rumble's reigning champion was a girl, a girl younger than any of them. Unlike most of the fighters of the event, The Blind Bandit didn't waste her time with flashy entrances. She simply walked into the ring along with two attractive assistants that helped her take off the champion's belt that she carried. No tough gestures, no insults, no nothing. Her calm demeanor and the confident smirk on her face were every bit as imposing as The Boulder's presence was.

"The Blind Bandit? But… she can't possibly be blind. I mean, it's just part of her character, right?" Katara asked.

"… I'm not sure," Shujinko admitted. "Why would you call yourself The Blind Bandit unless you couldn't actually see? The nickname sounds cool and all, but it doesn't make much sense to use it if you're not blind,"

Sokka whistled. "They might as well hand the championship title to The Boulder right away. There's no way he's gonna lose to a blind girl,"

Shujinko didn't know what to think. After witnessing what some of these earthbenders could do, he found the idea of a blind girl being the current champion to be extremely unlikely. However, it was a fact that The Blind Bandit was the current champion, and Shujinko doubted she had earned that spot without fighting and winning her way through. He had to see what she was capable of before making any judgments.

The Boulder frowned as he stared at his rival. "The Boulder feels conflicted about having to fight a young and blind girl,"

"Is that so?" The Blind Bandit replied. "Because it sounds to me that you're just scared. Your nickname is The Boulder? I think you should call yourself 'The Pebble' instead,"

"… The Boulder no longer feels conflicted, and he's ready to bury you in a rockalanche!"

The Blind Bandit threw her head back and laughed. "Yeah right, as if I would ever lose to someone like you. Come on, The Pebble, show me what you got,"

As soon as he heard The Blind Bandit laughing, Aang's eyes went wide in shock. "That's it! She's the girl from my vision, the one who was playing with a Flying Boar!" he said, much to everyone's surprise. The moment he set his eyes on her, Aang was aware that The Blind Bandit bore a strong physical resemblance to the girl from his vision, even though the latter wore a fine dress made of silk and had her hair done more elegantly. However, all doubts were erased when he noticed that The Blind Bandit had the exact same laugh as her counterpart from the vision.

Not being one to answer kindly to taunts, The Boulder began his attack by running in a straightforward fashion like a bull chasing after a red flag. The moment her opponent took his first step, The Blind Bandit assumed a fighting stance. She waited for The Boulder to come a little closer before performing a low kick that sent a line of earth towards her enemy, who was too concentrated on his charge to notice it.

Before The Boulder could take his fifth step, the line of earth had already traveled to his position, catching his foot and forcing The Boulder to do a full split. His legs were nearly at a perfect 180-degree angle. "Ooooooooowww!" The Boulder howled in pain, making everyone in the public wince uncomfortably.

Now that her opponent was incapacitated (to say the least), The Blind Bandit punched the air, creating an earth column behind The Boulder's back. Said earth column kicked his lower rear so hard that the humiliated fighter was thrown out of the ring, his ego and his butt both heavily bruised. Earth Rumble VI's grand finale lasted for about thirty seconds. The crowd was as silent as a grave, still processing what they had just seen.

"We have a winner! The Blind Bandit is still Earth Rumble's reigning champion!" Xin Fu shouted. The stadium nearly exploded with cheers and praises directed at The Blind Bandit, who merely raised her fist in a victorious gesture. A couple of staff members were sent to help The Boulder since the man was still half unconscious and couldn't walk on his own.

"… Did… Did The Boulder lost just now?" Sokka asked in disbelief. He refused to accept that his favorite candidate to win the title had just been demolished by a little, fragile-looking girl that was blind. "How did this happen?"

"She won because she waited, and listened," Aang said with a huge smile, for he knew he had just found his Earthbending teacher. "I have to go down there and get her to listen to me. Once she finds out I'm the Avatar, I'm sure she'll be willing to teach me Earthbending. This might be my only opportunity!"

Shujinko furrowed his brow. "Calm down, Aang. We have to be smart about this. I can see why you want her to teach you Earthbending, but you can't risk exposing yourself as the Avatar here in such a crowded place. The last thing we need right now is unwanted attention, remember?" His words didn't seem to reach the Avatar, who looked like he was ready to stand up and walk over to where The Blind Bandit was.

"Now, as the customs of the event dictate, anyone from the public is allowed to challenge our reigning champion. Whoever manages to defeat The Blind Bandit will not only become the new champion, but will also be awarded this sack of gold," Xin Fu said. Shujinko stared at the monk's face, and he could almost hear an alarm bell going off. "What? Is no one here willing to accept the challenge?"

"I'll do it!"

* * *

If Toph had one complaint about being such a kickass earthbender, it was that she rarely got the chance to confront something or someone that could pose a challenge to her abilities, if ever.

Ever since she started competing in the Earth Rumble tournaments, it became clear to Toph that she was in a league of her own. All of the hotshots she had fought so far ended up eating the dust, to the point where winning matches was now her bread and butter. The only reason why Toph still participated was because the Earth Rumble tournaments were one of the very few instances where she could escape her home and be herself. There was that, and there was also the fact that she enjoyed the roar of the crowd after beating whatever chump who had the misfortune of being paired against The Blind Bandit.

Toph wasn't expecting anything unusual to happen tonight, which was why she was rather surprised when a voice from the crowd announced that he accepted the challenge proposed by Xin Fu.

"I'll do it!"

Those words alone were enough to start a symphony of whispers that echoed around the Arena. Toph herself raised an eyebrow. At first, it was difficult for her to pinpoint the location of the approaching challenger due to the number of people that were in the stadium, but after a short while, her feet sensed the earth's vibrations of whoever was walking up the stairs that lead to the ring.

"It looks like we have a taker! Let's give this brave young man a round of applause, please!" Xin Fu asked, and his request was obliged. It's not like the audience thought the boy had a real chance to win, but at least his courage was worthy of some recognition. "What's your name?" Xin Fu asked once all of the clapping was over.

"Shujin… I mean Lee… Rock Lee," Shujinko replied hastily. Giving out his real name could create potential complications for him and for the rest of Team Avatar, so he decided to use the name of his fellow comrade instead. Even though the real Rock Lee would most likely never find out about this, Shujinko sent a mental apology to his friend all the same.

Xin Fu frowned slightly. Judging by the way he answered, it was obvious that the teenager wanted to keep his real name to himself. In any case, as long as they had an appropriate nickname or alias, fighters weren't required to reveal their true identity and so Xin Fu shrugged it off. "Very well, then. This next match is between The Blind Bandit and Rock Lee! Let's get this started!"

* * *

"Did that guy just called Shujinko 'Rock Lee'?" Katara asked, wondering if her ears had deceived her.

"I know, right? He could've chosen a much cooler nickname, like 'The Shocking Shinobi' or 'The Nocturnal Ninja'. The possibilities were endless!" Sokka exclaimed as he stood up. "Well, I guess it doesn't matter now. Come on, Rock Lee! Do it! Avenge The Boulder!"

Aang didn't share half of Sokka's enthusiasm. In fact, he shared almost none of it. "Why did Shujinko decided to fight The Blind Bandit? He knows I have to talk to her. Doesn't he understand how important this is?" he asked no one in particular, annoyance all too clear in his voice. Aang was aware that Shujinko was just trying to keep him safe, but the fact that the Ozuma made the decision of approaching The Blind Bandit without even consulting him or either of the Water Tribe siblings beforehand bothered the Avatar a great deal. If something went wrong, his opportunity to learn Earthbending under the guidance of a teacher who waited and listened to the earth could be lost, maybe forever.

The waterbender of the group placed Shujinko's kunai holsters and back pouches next to her feet. Since no rule stated that the use of weaponry was allowed and Shujinko didn't want to take any risks, he asked Katara to keep an eye on them while he was busy. "Aang, I understand how you're feeling, but I think Shujinko was right. If you expose yourself as the Avatar, even if it is by accident, we could end up with a big problem on our hands. Besides, Shujinko said he had a plan that would help you meet The Blind Bandit. Let's just lay back and see what happens, alright?"

Taking a deep breath, Aang did his best to remain calm and fixated his gaze on the ring, where Shujinko and The Blind Bandit were about to start their fight. He didn't like where this was going, but there was nothing he could do about it now. He just hoped that Shujinko's plan, whatever that was, would somehow work.

* * *

"Let me tell you something, tough guy: You must be pretty brave or pretty stupid if you think you can beat me," Toph said out loud, beginning the classic trash talk that most fighters were so fond of.

Toph's ability to sense earth vibrations had already given her fairly accurate information about the individual whom she was going up against. Her opponent was a boy a couple of years older than her with average height and weight. He wore a metallic headband around his forehead, not that she knew why or cared about it. Toph came close to labeling the guy as completely normal.

Close, because there was one thing that caught her attention, and that was his body. For some reason, it seemed to be considerably more developed than what one would expect from someone who was fourteen-years-old. She could tell his advanced physique was different from the rest. Whoever this teenager was, he clearly enjoyed working out.

However, it took more than that to intimidate someone like Toph. She'd been beating guys more than twice her size ever since she joined this tournament, opponents who were much stronger in physical terms than this so-called Rock Lee. Muscles meant nothing when you were lying defenselessly on the ground, and that was exactly the lesson Toph was going to teach this newcomer the hard way.

"Heh, maybe I'm just a bit of both," Shujinko replied, doing a couple of stretches to get his body warmed up. Now that the two of them were at a close distance, Shujinko took a close look at The Blind Bandit. Her eyes were quite pale, telling him that she was indeed blind, and her fair skin almost seemed to be made of porcelain. Her physical features pretty much screamed nobility, rather odd given the circumstances. If her hair was bluer, and if her irises were white instead of pale jade, Shujinko could've easily mistaken her for Hinata Hyuuga. "In any case, before we get on with our fight, there's something I want to talk to you about. I want to make a small deal with you,"

"A small deal with me?" Toph repeated. "Sorry Rock Lee, but I'm not interested in making any deals. Now get ready to get your butt handed to you,"

Shujinko frowned. He was hoping that The Blind Bandit would at least hear him out before they had to exchange blows, but apparently, the Hinata of this part of the world was nothing like the real Hinata, who was respectful and maybe even too kind for her own good. 'Looks like I have no choice but to go with plan B,'

DING DING

As soon as the fight began, Shujinko jumped back in order to gain some distance from his opponent. Under normal circumstances, he would've had no trouble using his shinobi abilities to end the match as soon as possible, but there were several factors that he had to take into account, factors that heavily limited his course of action. The fact that hundreds of people were watching him was an issue in and of itself, but the main problem was getting The Blind Bandit to listen to his proposal and agree to it before he bested her. A quick KO was not an option.

"What's the matter? Too scared to fight me?" Toph taunted him after adopting a standard Earthbending stance, ready to react to each and every one of Rock Lee's attacks.

"Not at all, but I saw what you can do when you fought against The Boulder. I'm not making the same mistake he did," Shujinko said, adopting a fighting stance of his own. "You can start shooting rocks whenever you want unless you're the one who's scared to fight me,"

Rock Lee wasn't as dumb as his nickname was, Toph noticed. Her fighting style was mostly based on fast counters, meaning that she usually allowed her enemies to make the first move before responding. Her opponent had caught on to that, so he jumped away to a safer distance and waited for her to make the first move instead. He even returned her taunting just to push her buttons. Not a bad start, she admitted.

"Alright, but no crying, got it?" Toph stomped the ground with her foot, raising a single rock that was roughly the same shape as a watermelon. Then, she broke the rock in half and threw both chunks at him with two fast punching motions. While she generally avoided attacking first, the blind earthbender thought she might as well play with him for a while before her inevitable victory.

Without moving from his spot, Shujinko shifted his shoulders to one side and then ducked down, evading the two rocks aimed at his chest. As soon as he did that, he saw a column of earth coming straight at him. Since he didn't have enough time to dodge the attack, the Chunin jumped over the column, placed his hands on top of it and pushed himself out of the way.

Even though he landed in a completely different position, Toph seemed to know exactly where he was, as she immediately turned her head around to the spot where he was now standing. The Blind Bandit didn't waste any time and performed an uppercut motion, raising another column. Shujinko jumped to the left, but as soon as his feet touched the ground, he was nearly caught off guard by another column that popped up right in front of him. It was thanks to his training that he managed to evade the second column and the one that came after.

'I don't understand how she does it. Even though she's blind, she can still sense my movements somehow. What kind of trick is she using?' Shujinko thought as he narrowed his eyes.

"You're quick on your feet, I'll give you that, but can you do anything else besides running or is that the only thing you're good at?" The Blind Bandit asked.

'This is your chance, Shujinko. It's now or never,' "I suppose I _could _take you seriously, but why would I do that? You haven't even heard what my earlier proposition was,"

"_You _take _me _seriously?" Instead of getting offended, Toph let out a chuckle. That kind of insult was exactly like something that would come out of her mouth. "Alright, I'll bite. What's this deal you were talking about?"

"There's a friend of mine who wants to talk to you. It's very important. If I win, you'll agree to listen to what my friend has to say. If I lose, then you can forget about me and everything I just asked you to do,"

Toph raised an eyebrow. Rock Lee was willing to fight her just so that a friend of his could have the opportunity to speak to her? She didn't know what to think of such a request, but in the end, she supposed it didn't matter given how there was no way she was going to lose. "Fine, whatever. I'll talk to your friend if you win, which is not gonna' happen,"

'Gotcha. Plan B is working,' The Chunin smirked. "Thanks… Now, let's go!" Shujinko exclaimed as crouched slightly, placing his palms on the ground. Then, much to everyone's shock, he started sprinting towards The Blind Bandit using some of his real speed.

'W-What the…!' Out of pure instinct, Toph created an earth wave from the ground and rode on it until she reached the other side of the ring. This helped her avoid getting caught by her opponent, who had just finished his single run, but Toph's heart was still pounding her chest. 'How can he move so fast? I didn't even have enough time to make a counterattack!'

What spooked her the most was feeling all those earth vibrations coming her way, like being in front of a running Eel Hound. Before the match had begun, Toph had already figured out that Rock Lee was faster than an average teenager after receiving the earth vibrations that his body emitted, but she wasn't expecting that level of speed from her opponent. The new guy had some tricks up his sleeve, after all.

'In that case…'

Shujinko started running again, but this time, The Blind Bandit was prepared. Pressing both her closed fists against their opposite shoulders, she borrowed a move from The Gopher and buried herself deep into the ground, leaving a tunnel-like hole behind. The golden-eyed teen stopped dead on his tracks and stared at his surroundings, wondering which spot the girl was going to emerge from.

CRAAACK

'Behind me!' As soon as he heard the ground fissuring behind his back, Shujinko turned around to face The Blind Bandit… but she was nowhere to be seen. Instead, what came out of the second hole was a large chunk of rock roughly shaped as her. 'What?'

CRAAACK

A third hole opened behind his back, and the real earthbender emerged from it. The blind girl raised her hands and sent a wall of stone at him. The Ozuma reacted too slowly and was barely able to place his hands against the wall, which did nothing as the wall continued to push him closer and closer to the edge. 'Damn it, it was a distraction!' Shujinko cursed. He looked over his shoulder and saw that he was ten feet away from falling out of the ring.

While most spectators (meaning literally everyone but Sokka, Katara, and Aang) had already given up on him, Shujinko refused to lose like this. Just when the wall was about to push him off the edge, the brown-haired ninja climbed on top of it and used it as a foothold to throw himself back into the ring right when the wall began its descent into the lower ground. The audience, fascinated by his risky maneuver, let out a 'Whoaaaaa' and applauded Shujinko for lasting so long against The Blind Bandit.

'That was too close. I could've lost the fight right there… but her tactic has given me an idea,' Shujinko thought. The Blind Bandit was on the other side of the ring waiting for him in her usual stance. She knew his speed was going to be a problem for her, so she placed herself as far away as she could in order to feel his presence from a distance and have more time to counter his attacks. It was a smart strategy, but fortunately for him, she was exactly where he needed her to be. 'If this drags on, she might force me to use more of my shinobi abilities. That would be too risky, so my next shot has to end the fight. Blind Bandit, you're a darn good earthbender and I can see why Aang wants to learn from you, but for that to happen, I have to defeat you. I'm sure you'll eventually forgive me,'

After taking a deep breath, Shujinko began to sprint at a moderate speed so that his opponent knew exactly where he was moving. The Blind Bandit retaliated by shooting several rocks of various sizes at him, but the Chunin dodged all of them by rotating his body around and performing full spins as he ran. Once he reached the middle of the ring, Shujinko dodged another incoming rock and, as he rotated, he began weaving a certain set of hand signs.

By the time the penultimate hand sign had been performed, Shujinko was only a couple of feet away from The Blind Bandit.

'You're mine!' Toph shouted inside her head, extending her arms and releasing an earth column from the ground, which was sent directly at him. The distance between Rock Lee and her attack was so short that it was practically impossible for him to evade it…

… ZIIIIIP

Seconds before the earth column could make contact, the Ozuma made use of the reflexes and the speed he had earned thanks to Kakashi's training, and to the untrained eye, Shujinko almost became a blur that appeared behind The Blind Bandit's back. That was when Shujinko weaved the last hand sign he needed to perform his technique.

For a brief moment, Toph's heart stood still, unable to comprehend what had just happened. Both her feet and her mind were still assimilating the fact that, somehow, the teenager she was fighting against had disappeared right in front of her face. Her shock was so huge that it took her a couple of seconds to come back to her senses, and when she did, Toph realized her opponent was facing her back, as if waiting for his presence to be acknowledged by her.

But as soon as she turned her body around, Shujinko had already gotten behind her again. The last thing The Blind Bandit heard before Shujinko pointed his open palm between her shoulder blades was the inexplicable, out-of-place sound of the wind soughing.

'Wind Style: Gale Palm!'

Using his Wind Release technique, Shujinko pushed the earthbender hard enough to knock her out of the ring. He restrained himself from using the jutsu at its full power since he didn't want to cause her any serious injuries. Shujinko also made sure to stop his hand inches away from her back before releasing the gale of wind, because otherwise his jutsu would've torn a hole in her clothes and hurt her skin. The brown-haired teen did his best to try to make it look like he had simply pushed his opponent using his natural strength rather than using Airbending, or at least the equivalent of Airbending in this part of the world.

Even with all of the precautions that Shujinko took, Toph still had a bit of a rough landing, but that was all the harm she suffered. He felt a little guilty over using Ninjutsu against a blind girl that had no way of defending herself against it, but he didn't have much of a choice given how the other alternative was using direct physical attacks, and he seriously doubted The Blind Bandit could've withstood his Taijutsu.

A silence worthy of a graveyard took place. No one dared to utter a word, not even Xin Fu, who had never witnessed something this astonishing in all of his years that he spent as a fighter and organizer of the Earth Rumble tournaments.

…

"… Woo-hoo! He did it! Rock Lee defeated The Blind Bandit and avenged The Boulder!"

Sokka's cheers shook the rest of the audience out of their numbness, and all of a sudden, the spectators went wild, clapping and shouting their lungs out. This had been, without a shadow of a doubt, the most entertaining Earth Rumble tournament they had ever attended due to the amazing Earthbending displayed and the epic finale between the champion and the unknown underdog. A little embarrassed by all of the attention and not really knowing what else to do, Shujinko clumsily waved his hands at the crowd as a way of thanking their support. Ninjas weren't meant to be on the spotlight.

The sporadic moment of awkwardness faded away the moment Shujinko caught sight of The Blind Bandit leaving the stage. "Hey, where are you going?" Shujinko asked as he approached the edge of the ring.

"I'm leaving," was her answer. She didn't even bother to turn around when she replied.

"Leaving? But we had a deal!"

"I don't care what our deal was! Just stay away from me!"

Shujinko tried to stop her, but the young earthbender made a rectangular hole in a wall, got inside and closed the wall back together before he could do anything about it. "Hey, you can't just walk away like that! Don't be so inmat… You promised me you would talk to my friend!" His words never reached The Blind Bandit, for the two of them were now separated by several layers of rocks and hard soil.

The Ozuma turned his head around and, much to his dismay, the rest of Team Avatar was behind him. Sokka was holding the champion's belt and gleefully rubbing the bag of gold against his cheek, seemingly unaware of the situation at hand. Katara had a growing look of concern on her face while Aang was just staring at him in disbelief. Shujinko felt like a fresh out of the Academy Genin after screwing up his very first C-rank mission with his team.

Knowing that he owed them an explanation, the golden-eyed teen gathered all the professionalism and the expertise he could muster at the moment…

"… That was… not part of my plan,"

* * *

Aaaaaand that was chapter 6 part 1. Hope you all like it.

When I started writing this chapter, I didn't think I would have to split the episode in two. However, this is already 9.000 words-long and I'm only halfway done, so I'll have to continue the episode of The Blind Bandit in the next chapter. Since Shujinko has already reached the main storyline, I'll do my best to cut some of the fat from the next episodes so that you guys don't have to read the same events that are portrayed in the show (unless I can do something interesting with them).

I'm glad I finally got to write another fight scene. It was interesting to add Toph's point of view to the story, and I sure hope both her thoughts and her actions during the fight were realistic enough. Let me know in your reviews how you think the fight scene came out. Also, what do you think about Shujinko using Rock Lee's name? Despite its mainly comedic effect, I thought it was also fitting since 'Rock' naturally belongs to Earthbending and 'Lee' is a common name in the Fire Nation's colonies.

Don't forget to Review, Favorite & Follow

Peace!


	7. Chapter 7 (part 2)

**CHAPTER 7: THE BLIND BANDIT (PART 2)**

(Disclaimer: Avatar The Last Airbender belongs to Nickelodeon and Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. I only own my OC's)

(PLEASE READ: THIS IS NOT A SEQUEL TO "SHUJINKO: THE FOURTH MEMBER", BUT A DIFFERENT STORY WITH SHUJINKO AS THE MAIN CHARACTER. THIS STORY WILL NOT HAVE ANY EFFECT WHATSOEVER IN "SHUJINKO SHIPPUDEN". I REPEAT, THIS IS NOT A SEQUEL TO SHUJINKO'S ORIGINAL STORY)

Summary: One night, a stranger breaks into Shujinko's house and tries to steal one of the most mystical objects in the history of the Ozuma clan: The Eye of Kazemaru. When Shujinko tries to stop him, the two of them activate an ancient and forgotten power of the gem by accident, which sends them to another dimension where a certain bald-headed monk has to master the four elements in order to defeat the evil Fire Lord. What kind of impact will Shujinko's presence have in the Avatar universe? Who is this stranger and what does he want? Get ready for one wild space-time adventure

"Why did you have to pick up a fight against her? She was supposed to be my Earthbending teacher, and now we have no idea where she is or how to find her,"

Aang wasn't exactly in the best mood. Despite being a cheerful and optimistic young monk, he felt he had missed a golden opportunity of learning Earthbending with a proper teacher, all thanks to Shujinko. The Avatar knew Shujinko hadn't done it on purpose and that his intentions were good, but it was hard to dismiss what he did as an ordinary slip when taking into consideration everything that was on the line. He wasn't furious at him or anything of the sort, but his worries and his anxiety were getting the better of him.

"Look Aang, I already said I'm sorry," Shujinko replied as Team Avatar walked aimlessly around the streets of Gaoling. It was early in the morning and the group had decided to go ask the people in town if they had ever seen a young girl that matched The Blind Bandit's description. So far, none of the locals seemed to have any knowledge about her, and it didn't seem like their luck was about to change any time soon. "I made a deal with The Blind Bandit so that you would get the chance to meet her if I won the fight, but she forgot about it as soon as I knocked her out of the ring. I wasn't expecting The Blind Bandit to be such a sore loser,"

But even though The Blind Bandit had indeed proven herself to be a sore loser, the Chunin knew he was the one at fault. Back when he was a Genin, he used to be harsh on himself whenever he committed a mistake or failed to notice an important detail during a mission or a training session. After some time, Shujinko learned not to berate himself for everything, but that natural urge of taking control of the situation was still there, and he was too proud and righteous to refuse to bear the consequences of his actions. That was the price he paid for holding himself to a higher standard than the others.

"Come on guys, look at the bright side. Yesterday, we were dirt poor, and now we have a bag of gold to spend on whatever we want," Sokka said cheerfully. He looked down at his most recent purchase, a fancy handbag, and smiled fondly.

"I still don't understand why you bought that purse, Sokka," Katara commented.

"For the last time, it's not a purse, it's a handbag! And why shouldn't I have bought it? I deserve to treat myself every now and then. Besides, you can't expect me to walk in front of everyone holding a bag of gold on my hands. That's what handbags are for, sis,"

Aang let out an annoyed groan as he turned around to face the other three. "It doesn't matter if it's a handbag or a purse. It's not gonna help us find The Blind Bandit. We've already asked half the people of Gaoling and no one has given us a clue," he said as the group came to a halt.

"In that case, maybe we should stop asking strangers in the streets and go to a place where people might know about her," Katara suggested before her eyes lightened up with enthusiasm. "I have an idea! We first learned about the Earth Rumble VI tournament when we were at Master Yu's Academy. How about we go there and ask some of his students? They might be able to tell us something,"

"Hey, that could actually work. Those two dummies from yesterday mentioned The Boulder and The Blind Bandit during their conversation. They were debating which one of them was going to win, so it's only logical that they have some knowledge on who The Blind Bandit is, even if it is just a little," Shujinko said before smiling at the waterbender. "I gotta' hand it to you, Katara. You're pretty smart,"

Katara returned his smile, feeling a tiny bit of embarrassment. She wasn't very used to receive that kind of praise, mainly because she simply did what she thought was right and didn't expect much in return. The goal of her suggestions was to move the group forward and nothing else. Still, she appreciated Shujinko's comment, as she knew he meant it and was more than just a hollow courtesy.

Shujinko turned to face Aang. "Do you think we should check out Master Yu's Academy?"

"I guess we don't have much of a choice. It's the only idea we've come up with so far. Besides, the morning class started already, so there must be enough students to ask them about The Blind Bandit. Let's go,"

000

|Master Yu's Earthbending Academy|

Team Avatar arrived at the academy just in time. Children were leaving the courtyard so that the older students could start their basic warm-up routine. Master Yu didn't bother himself with supervising his older students as he was too busy enjoying a cup of tea inside his dojo before the class officially started. Upon entering, they found Monkon and Yonri hitting two giant clay pots full of sand.

Upon noticing the presence of the four travelers, the two earthbenders stopped their exercise and glared at them, only to cower in fear when they recognized Shujinko. "What are you doing here? Only students are allowed to be in this courtyard," Yonri said in an attempt to look tough, although the tone of his voice betrayed him. His wrist was wrapped around several bandages, much to Shujinko's amusement.

"We need to find out who The Blind Bandit is," Aang replied. "Do you know anything about her?"

"The Blind Bandit? What makes you think we know who she is, kid?"

"Just stick to answering our question," Katara said, having fed up with their attitudes. The idea of freezing the two of them from their toes to their necks was starting to grow on her.

Sokka immediately placed his arm around Shujinko's neck. "That's right, unless you want to suffer the anger of our friend Rock Lee here. You know, Earth Rumble's new champion, kind of a big deal,"

Monkon and Yonri began to sweat. The rumors of an unknown teenager defeating The Blind Bandit had reached the ears of almost everyone in town. Neither of them had been able to sneak into the stadium to see the matches last night, but after their encounter with Shujinko, they knew it was a bad idea to mess with him. "The Blind Bandit is a mystery. No one knows who she really is or where she lives. She just shows up to fight, and when the matches are over, she disappears without leaving a trace,"

"That's it? That's all you can tell us about The Blind Bandit?" Aang asked, sounding a little disappointed. He was obviously hoping to hear something more elaborated.

"I swear, if any of you is hiding something from us…" Katara began to say, but she was suddenly interrupted by Shujinko.

"You know, I've been thinking about this all morning. Despite being a great bender, The Blind Bandit is still a young girl, and a blind one at that. She looked like she was eleven or twelve years-old to me. The idea of a blind girl surviving on her own without anyone to look after her all of this time is unlikely at best, so I assume she lives with at least one individual who helps her with her needs, probably her family,"

Sokka raised an eyebrow. "Okay, so The Blind Bandit lives with people. How does that help us?"

"Also, The Blind Bandit has impressive Earthbending skills, and considering her age, it's doubtful that she obtained said skills on her own," Shujinko said as he ignored Sokka's question. He wasn't trying to be rude, but he needed concentration in order to keep theorizing about The Blind Bandit's origins. "Someone must've taught her, and that someone must be a great earthbender as well as a great teacher. After all, she taught a blind girl and got amazing results. I don't think she joined a public Earthbending academy, because otherwise, people would've recognized her already, which leads me to believe that she was taught personally. Tell me, are there any remarkable Earthbending masters around here that offer private lessons?"

"Very few of them," Monkon answered. "And the ones that do, they charge a fortune to whoever wants private lessons, no exceptions made,"

"In that case, I can only think of two options: Either The Blind Bandit has some kind of relationship with her teacher in which no money is involved, or she's wealthy enough to hire the services of one of these private teachers. It's already assumed that she has at least one adult in her life that takes care of her, and that caretaker could be his teacher as well. The other alternative is that she lives with her family or with a group of people who took her in. Regardless of whom she lives with, these people saw fit to put a private teacher in charge of The Blind Bandit's Earthbending lessons, meaning that they have the money to afford it. As a result, it's possible to conclude that The Blind Bandit _could _be someone who's related to wealthy people here in Gaoling… But like I recently said, that's just a possibility,"

Once his deductive analysis came to an end, Shujinko found himself at the receiving end of five perplexed stares, as if he had suddenly grown a pair of antlers and a beak.

"Damn, and here I thought I was the detective of the group," Sokka said sarcastically. "Is that how I look when I'm overthinking things?"

"Now that Shujinko mentions it, the girl in my visions was wearing a pretty fancy dress, and she was playing with a Flying Boar," Aang recalled. "Is there anyone here in Gaoling who has a pet Flying Boar?"

"A Flying Boar? Isn't that the emblem of the Beifong family?" Monkon asked Yonri, who nodded.

"That's right. They're the richest family in town, and easily the richest family in all of the Earth Kingdom. They live outside of town near the hills,"

The Water Tribe siblings stared at each other in bewilderment. It was almost scary how Shujinko's theory was starting to add up. With basically no information whatsoever, he deduced that The Blind Bandit was most likely related to a group of wealthy people, and now they were hearing about the Beifong family. They already knew Shujinko was no dimwit, but they weren't expecting this kind of intelligence from a fourteen-year-old.

"Anyways, the Beifong family doesn't have a daughter, at least not that anyone knows of,"

"That's okay. We're not explicitly looking for a daughter, just a girl. Maybe her ties with the Beifong family don't come from blood or lineage," Shujinko explained.

The young monk smiled brightly at that. "That's good enough for me. We have to visit the Beifong family and see if they know anything about The Blind Bandit. I have a good feeling about this. Come on, let's get going," Team Avatar left Master Yu's Academy as more students entered the backyard, giving them odd looks.

Once she made sure no one else was hearing them, Katara turned to Shujinko. "How did you do that?"

Shujinko blinked three consecutive times. "Do what, exactly?"

"You know what I mean, Shujinko. That thing you did back there, how you figured out who The Blind Bandit might be. We barely even know her and yet you came to all sorts of conclusions after interacting with her only once,"

"I didn't do anything out of the ordinary, and I certainly haven't arrived to any definitive answers. I merely formulated a theory incorporating assumptions and suppositions. For all we know, The Blind Bandit might be a completely different person and my theory might be completely wrong, but in situations like these, it's better to speculate rationally about the individual we're looking for instead of hoping to get lucky,"

"That whole analysis thing, do you do that very often?" Sokka asked.

"You'd be surprised how often I do, Sokka, especially as of late given the situation that I'm in," the Ozuma replied. "I'm not familiar with this part of the world, so I'm still learning how it works. This kind of critical thinking in ingrained in my head at this point, and that's not only good, but also necessary. I need to be able to properly analyze my surroundings and the people around me in order to assess them, particularly when it comes to my enemies,"

"Your enemies?" Aang repeated. "What do you mean by that?"

"Aang, do you remember when we fought those Fire Nation soldiers back in Gi Yuin Village?" Shujinko, asked, receiving a nod from the Avatar. "In all of the time we've spent together since that day, have you ever wondered why I didn't use Ninjutsu to deal with them?"

The bald monk wrinkled his nose as he tried to come up with an answer. Now that he thought about it, Shujinko could've used Ninjutsu to take care of those Fire Nation soldiers with ease, yet he didn't. Instead, he relied on his knives and his martial arts ('Taijutsu,' Aang mentally corrected himself) to defeat them. "You didn't use Ninjutsu because you didn't need to, am I right?"

Shujinko nodded. "That's correct. While I was fighting those soldiers, I was also analyzing their skills, and I came to the conclusion that using Ninjutsu against them was unnecessary. The ability to think during combat is essential because it allows you to make the correct decisions and it helps you avoid taking risks. That's the reason why I don't use Ninjutsu unless the circumstances call for it, because of its inherent dangers,"

"When we were bathing at the natural hot springs two days ago, you said something about Ninjutsu and how you weren't supposed to use it recklessly," the waterbender of the group recalled, and the image of Shujinko's scarred body inevitably came to mind. She discreetly shook her head in an attempt to get rid of that sad picture. "What did you exactly meant by it?"

"Every technique that derives from Ninjutsu has a chakra cost, regardless of the simplicity or complexity of the jutsu itself. Chakra is the combination of my physical and spiritual energies. In other words, you could sort of say that my chakra is to Ninjutsu what your chi is to bending,"

"Really? The monks taught me that chakras were points located throughout the human body where chi is heavily concentrated. According to them, chakras were like gates that regulated the internal flow of our chi, but they never said anything about chakra being energy that could be used,"

That last piece of information surprised Shujinko a great deal. He wasn't expecting the concept of chakra to exist in this part of the world, but if what Aang had just said was true, then it seemed that benders understood chakra in a different way. These 'chakras' that Aang was talking about were similar to the Eight Inner Gates that were inside a ninja's chakra pathway system.

He didn't know what the effects of opening these chakras were, but in the shinobi world, opening the Eight Inner Gates allowed the user to unleash the raw physical strength of the human body. As far as Shujinko was aware, only Taijutsu experts were able to open these gates, and they had to go through an insane amount of training before they could accomplish this. Judging by their bodies alone, Shujinko seriously doubted any of his new comrades would still be able to stand up if they ever tried to join him in one of his training routines, which lasted for hours. It soon became obvious to him that these gates Aang referred to as chakras and the Eight Inner Gates were different from one another.

"Well, in my case, chakra doesn't work like that. Chakra is energy, and every time I perform Ninjutsu, a portion of that energy is spent. You can make your chakra reserves bigger with enough training, and you can also reduce the cost of chakra by improving your chakra control, but no matter what you do, it's impossible to use Ninjutsu without consuming some of that energy. There's just no other way around it,"

"I think I get it. So… What happens when you run out of chakra juice?" Sokka asked, a hint of hesitation in his voice, as if a part of Sokka was telling him he was better off without knowing the answer to that question.

"Running low on chakra can be downright disastrous for a shinobi, even more so if it happens during the middle of a fight. Chakra is linked to our stamina, which means that our stamina takes a hit whenever we use Ninjutsu. Low chakra levels can result in fatigue and exhaustion. It can take days and even weeks to fully restore our chakra depending on how much of it is left in our bodies. Now, if your body is completely deprived of chakra… Well, that's the end of the road for you,"

Katara gulped. "… Does that mean you'll be left unconscious or something like that?"

"You'll most likely end unconscious if you use almost all of your chakra. No, when I say that it's the end of the road for you when you have no chakra left, I mean that you'll inevitably die," His words sent shivers down the spines of Aang, Katara, and Sokka, as if someone had poured a bucket of cold water over their heads. "A shinobi can't live without chakra. It would be like living without oxygen. That's why I can't afford to be careless when it comes to Ninjutsu, because I run the risk of spending too much chakra. Luckily, I'm well aware of my limits, and from what I've seen so far, I don't think I'll have to use Ninjutsu very often, at least not to the point where it becomes dangerous for me,"

It took a while for Shujinko to realize that the group had fallen unusually silent, and not exactly because their curiosity had been satiated. Apparently, knowing that he would die should he run out of chakra struck his new friends harder than what he anticipated.

Maybe it was because people in this world didn't die from excessive use of bending, but still, he thought their reactions were a bit exaggerated. There were plenty of other ways to get you killed in the shinobi world, some of them far more gruesome and painful than suffering complete chakra depletion. Besides, they needed to know this so that, in the case of a future emergency, they wouldn't pester him with questions such as 'Why don't you use Ninjutsu for this and that and the other?'

They had to understand that he was not like them. They had to understand that sticking his neck out and facing life or death situations was just part of who he was. Part of what ninjas were.

They had to understand that, sometimes, risking your life was the only way to preserve it.

* * *

|Beifong residence|

"Well, they weren't lying when they said the Beifong were the richest people in town. Just look at this place," Shujinko said, not bothering to hide his amazement.

After following the path that led to the hills, Team Avatar soon found the entrance to the Beifong estate, where two giant gates depicted the emblem of a Flying Boar. The entrance was protected by four guards who wore green and white uniforms. They wielded spears that were fairly similar to the naginatas that some shinobis used in combat, only that these spears had shorter, wider blades.

Since they weren't sure how the guards might react to their presence, Shujinko insisted on exploring the perimeter from a distance before approaching the guards. Luckily for them, there was a hill nearby that offered a clear view of the Beifong estate, which was surrounded by walls. Once they were at the top, they saw most of the Beifong estate consisted of an enormous garden with lots of trees, plants, flowers, and beautifully crafted sculptures. The buildings inside the estate were every bit as elegant as the garden was. Shujinko was willing to bet the Eye of Kazemaru inside his backpack that not even the Hyuuga manor was this magnificent, and he had never stepped a foot in the Hyuuga clan's territory before. All in all, it was a place worthy of a Feudal Lord and his family.

"It sure is impressive, but we have to think of a way to get inside and find a girl that may or may not be there," Sokka said, to which Aang raised an eyebrow.

"Shouldn't we tell the guards to please let us in before we do this? They might give us permission if we ask them nicely,"

"Aang has a point, you know," Katara seconded. "Instead of breaking into their house, he could announce himself as the Avatar and tell the guards to allow us to enter. Even if they're the wealthiest people in all of the Earth Kingdom, I'm sure the Beifong family wouldn't turn down a request from the Avatar. If anything, they will most likely receive us as honor guests,"

"While that is true, our primary objective is to find The Blind Bandit, not to become the Beifongs' honor guests. In my opinion, we need to split up for a while. I'll search for The Blind Bandit while you wait outside. That way, I can verify if The Blind Bandit is here so that we don't waste any more of our time,"

"Wait a minute, what? You want to go there alone?" Sokka frowned at his suggestion. "What if you're spotted by one of those guards? I doubt they'll invite you to come over and eat cookies with them,"

Admittedly, the Ozuma still hadn't quite perfected the art of stealth. He was able to hide well enough and avoid making noises while doing so, but true stealth was something that took years to master and Shujinko was merely adept at it. Still, he was dealing with regular guards instead of actual ninjas, so he was confident that he could manage with his skills.

"That's precisely why I should do this on my own. In the unlikely event that I do get caught before finding The Blind Bandit, I can just escape with little to no trouble. However, if we all go there searching for her, not only the chances of getting caught increase, but we might also lose the opportunity to play the Avatar card. We ninjas are trained for this kind of situations, and don't take this the wrong way, but none of you are exactly the stealthy type. I'm better off doing this alone and you know it,"

As soon as he finished his rant, he saw a flash of disappointment in his friends' eyes, and Shujinko felt a pang of guilt inside his stomach. He knew he was on the right, and any of his comrades from the village would agree with him on this one, but he kept making the same mistake: Forgetting that Aang, Katara, and Sokka weren't ninjas. Even if his plan was based on sound logic, the three of them probably felt left out, as if they weren't good enough to help him.

If they were ninjas, they would've understood that the effectiveness of the plan was more important than their personal feelings. However, Shujinko had to remind himself that he wasn't leading a squad of Genins, but a group of teenagers who wanted to help despite not ever receiving any military education, at least not the one Shujinko did. Besides, he wasn't their leader either, so he had no right to give them orders just like that.

When he decided to fight The Blind Bandit, he did so without consulting any of them or asking what their opinions were. It didn't work for him last time, and the Chunin didn't want to make the same mistake twice. "Listen, if you don't think my plan makes sense, or if you want to suggest something else, just say it. You're my comrades, not my subordinates,"

"Actually, there's one thing I want to say," Aang replied as the rest of the group turned to him. "To be honest, I don't have much of a problem with you telling us what to do during these situations. You're smart, and you're obviously good at this kind of stuff, but … I still feel like I have to go there. If we find the girl from my vision, maybe telling her I'm the Avatar is the only thing that will get her to listen to what I have to say,"

'Aang sure is determined to find her,' Shujinko thought as another possibility crossed his mind. 'Come to think of it, if we do find The Blind Bandit here, there's a chance she'll recognize me by my voice. Considering how irritated she became after losing our fight, I doubt she'd be willing to hear me out, but if Aang does the talking…' "Fine. Aang, you're coming with me. It's time to find out if the Flying Boar is the link between The Blind Bandit and the girl from your vision,"

A wide smile was beginning to creep on the Avatar's face, but before he could express his gratitude, he was interrupted by Shujinko giving him a stern look.

"However, if you insist on tagging along, I need you to stick by my side and follow my instructions. Even if we do come across The Blind Bandit, you'll wait for my signal before approaching her. Do I have your word, Aang?"

"You don't have to worry about me, I'm as obedient as a tamed Camelephant. Now let's go find the girl from my vision!"

000

Toph was in a nasty mood as she walked around the gardens of the Beifong manor.

In her head, she kept recalling the events that took place last night, specifically her humiliating defeat at the hands of Rock Lee or whatever his ridiculous name was. She didn't know what angered her the most: The fact that she had lost or the fact that she didn't know how she had lost. Despite her arrogance and all her self-confidence, Toph was aware that she wasn't the only giant in a world of midgets, that there were other individuals out there with combat skills that rivaled or maybe even surpassed hers. However, it was easy to forget that when you were literally stronger than everyone around you, which was why Toph didn't really participate in the tournament expecting to find someone who could give her a run for her money…

... but then Rock Lee came along.

At first, it didn't seem like he posed much of a threat; just some fancy acrobat with no idea of who he was messing with. But as soon as she accepted the deal proposed by Rock Lee, her opponent became something else and began displaying amazing physical abilities, most notably his speed and reflexes. He moved so fast and dodged so easily that Toph couldn't help but feel impressed. Hell, she even enjoyed the encounter up to a certain point, for no one had ever forced her to take a fight seriously before.

It was that last move that really drove Toph up the wall. In just a couple of seconds, Rock Lee had somehow managed to get behind her back not once, but twice in a row. Then, she felt a mysterious force gathering behind her, like a compressed gale of wind that came out of nowhere. Toph didn't know what kind of trick her opponent used, but thanks to her ability to sense the earth's vibrations, she knew she hadn't been struck directly by Rock Lee, but instead by something that had been released from the palm of his hand. The next thing she knew, she had been knocked out of the ring.

Toph would've still reacted the same way as she did if she knew what Rock Lee had done to her, but at the very least she wouldn't have to deal with this pesky uncertainty. If she ever met Rock Lee again, there were two things she wanted to do: The first was to ask him what dirty move did he pulled on her, and the second was to demand a rematch.

'… Who's there?' Toph narrowed her eyes as she picked the earth vibrations. Two people had entered her family's garden, sneaked past the guards, and climbed up a large tree to stay hidden. Who were these two trespassers? Toph assumed they were burglars who wanted to steal something from the richest family in town, and since the guards hired by her parents were mostly incompetent, proven by the numerous occasions in which she had sneaked out of the house right under their noses, it was hardly a surprise that two lowlifes had successfully done the opposite.

In any case, their robbery attempt came at a very timely moment. At least she now had the chance to blow off some steam, even if just a little.

000

"I gotta' say, this is actually exciting. It's like we're secret spies," Aang whispered to Shujinko as the two of them were hiding between the branches of the tall tree.

"This isn't a game, Aang. Don't get distracted," Shujinko whispered back. Even though they were in a pretty good hiding spot and the guards had yet to detect their presence, the Ozuma didn't want to test their luck engaging in idle talk. And besides, he didn't feel like discussing how redundant the term 'secret spies' was. "We need to keep our eyes open and our mouths shut for as long as we can,"

Aang nodded in understanding. Although he had gotten used to it for the most part, it still surprised him how serious Shujinko could become when it came to these types of situations. The Avatar supposed what they were doing this very moment was making Shujinko feel like he was on a mission back in his homeland, and despite not knowing much about the shinobi world, Aang could tell ninjas took the missions they participated in very seriously. He wanted to know more about Shujinko's missions, but that conversation would have to wait.

"Eyes open, mouths shut. Got it," he replied before leaning forward, puckering his lips in deep concentration. Aang narrowed his gaze when something caught his attention. "Hey, I think I saw someone,"

"Where?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe near that fountain over there? I need to take a closer look,"

"Aang, be careful. If you keep that up, you might end up fa-"

Before Shujinko could finish his sentence, Aang began to lose his balance as a result of leaning forward too much. "W-Whoaa," he nearly shouted. Shujinko immediately pulled him back and pressed his hand against his mouth in order to prevent Aang from yelling and giving away their position. Luckily, the Ozuma reacted quickly enough and saved the bald monk from facing a long fall.

Seconds after this happened, they saw someone walking towards the tree, and the eyes of both teens widened when they recognized The Blind Bandit. Aang wanted to gasp, but Shujinko's hand acted as a muzzle that prevented him from opening his mouth. 'That face, that hair, those eyes… She's definitely The Blind Bandit,' Shujinko thought. 'It's hard to believe that we found her on our first try. This makes everything so much easier,'

Judging by the frown she was sporting, it was very likely that the girl had heard Aang's voice and wanted to see… or rather, hear, what was going on. It was said that blind people had remarkably better hearing than the average person. The brown-haired boy didn't know whether this was true or not, but if it were true, then Shujinko would have to come up with an idea to approach The Blind Bandit as gently and non-threateningly as possible.

'Come on, walk away… Leave already… You didn't hear a thing…' The rate of his heartbeats increased as he slowed down his breathing. The Blind Bandit moved her head to the left and then to the right, as if making sure no one was around her. Then, she finally gave up and decided to walk away. A sigh of relief nearly escaped Shujinko's lips as he slowly moved his hand away from the Avatar's mouth. 'Crisis adverted,'

BAAM

Out of nowhere, The Blind Bandit turned around and stomped her foot, causing a small-scale earthquake. The ground shook so violently that both Shujinko and Aang fell from the branches of the tree. Even though he was taken by surprise, the Chunin managed to land on his hands and feet, unlike Aang, who didn't react on time and landed butt-first on the ground.

"What are you doing here?" Toph demanded to know.

"Who, me?" Aang asked back. Ignoring the pain on his lower rear, he stood up and gave The Blind Bandit an awkward smile. "Well, uhm… I'm Aang! It's nice to meet you, Blind Bandit. I'm a huge fan of you,"

"I wasn't asking you. I was asking the dirty cheater standing next to you,"

Shujinko frowned deeply. 'She recognized me? How? She can't see my face and I haven't spoken yet. Is she truly blind?' "Well, first of all, sorry for coming here uninvited. And second of all, I'm not a dirty cheater like you say. I won our fight fair and square,"

"I'll ask one last time. What are you doing here, and what do you want? If you're here for round two, I'll gladly give you the beating of a lifetime,"

"No, that's not what Shujinko's here for!" Aang was quick to reply, not wanting to test the temper of the girl from his vision. "Please, just hear me out. There's this really important thing I have to tell you. It'll only take a couple of minutes at best, but you need to listen to me,"

Toph snorted. "Listen to you? I don't have to listen to what anyone has to say. Now, give me one good reason why I shouldn't call the guards and order them to deal with the two of you,"

"Because you're strong enough to deal with the two of us on your own," Shujinko ventured to say. "I saw what you're capable of back in the Arena. It makes me wonder why someone like you needs guards in the first place,"

Truth be told, he didn't like having to convince people through words. That was not what he was trained for. Ninjas were hired to steal information, protect certain people, retrieve a lost object, and do pretty much anything their client wanted them to do, as long as the request was within the boundaries of reason and the client had the money to pay for their services. If not from a client, the mission could also come from the village itself if it benefited its interests.

However, ninjas were enforcers and task-doers by nature, not negotiators. If their mission was to convince someone, they did so by carrying out a certain job or using a wide variety of methods to force whoever needed to be forced into agreement, but ninjas rarely saw themselves in a situation where they had to convince someone using dialogue and dialogue alone.

'Kakashi-sensei once told me a good ninja was capable of adapting and overcoming unusual circumstances. I guess this is what he meant by that,'

Luckily for Shujinko, his answer managed to slightly deviate the topic of the conversation. "I don't need any guards. I can look after myself just fine. The idea of hiring those clowns came from my parents, not me," The Blind Bandit assured them.

"Your parents?" Aang repeated. "That means you really are part of the Beifong family, right?"

"Tch, tell me something I don't know,"

"Oh, I could tell you lots of things that you don't know about me, but I doubt you'd believe any of them," the Chunin replied. He noticed how The Blind Bandit, now identified as a Beifong, raised an eyebrow at him, as if she could somehow tell that he was being sincere. "In any case, we don't want to waste much more of your time. My friend Aang here is the Avatar, and he would very much like to ask you if you could please teach him Earthbending. That's the reason why we were looking for you,"

"You came all the way here just to ask me for Earthbending lessons?" Toph asked, her tone filled with incredulousness. "What makes you think I'm willing to teach you Earthbending just because you're the Avatar, huh?"

Aang scratched the back of his head, not really knowing how to handle the situation. With that attitude of hers, he now understood why Shujinko had so much trouble talking to The Blind Bandit while they fought against one another, as well as why she fled the scene as soon as she lost the match. "The thing is… A friend of mine told me to find an Earthbending teacher who waited and listened to the earth. Then, I had a vision of you playing with a Flying Boar. Shortly after that vision, we traveled here to Gaoling, and when I saw you and the way you perform Earthbending, I knew you were the teacher my friend told me to find,"

Toph listened very closely what Aang had to say while checking his heart rate through the use of her seismic sense. Surprisingly enough, the boy hadn't told a single lie, but just because he wasn't lying didn't mean that she was interested in his story or his motives, not in the slightest. "Well, tough luck for you. I don't care if you're the Avatar, I don't owe you anything,"

"You're absolutely right. You don't owe him anything, which is precisely why he's asking you to teach him Earthbending, not demanding you," Shujinko quickly pointed out. "If you still hate me due to our match the other night, then, by all means, hate me, but please try to take Aang's position into conside-"

"And what about you, anyway?" Toph cut him off. "Are you his official assistant or something? In case I haven't made it clear yet, I'm not interested in hearing anything that comes out of your mouth. Maybe you should go back to your home and mind your own business instead of acting like the Avatar's babysitter,"

As soon as she finished that last sentence, Toph felt a sudden reaction in Shujinko. His body became tense and he started breathing a little heavier. Thanks to her seismic sense, she noticed how Aang had turned to his friend and heard him gulp uneasily. At first, she believed Shujinko had gotten angry over her resentful comments, but Toph was about to find out just how wrong she was.

"… Trust me, you have no idea how badly I want to go back to my home. I think about my village, my friends and my family every minute of every day,"

Toph opened her mouth to reply but found herself unable to. She wasn't expecting that kind of response. Before she could ask him what he meant by that, Shujinko started talking again.

"I'm a foreigner. Not just in this land, but in this part of the world as a whole. Do you remember how I said there were plenty of things about me that you wouldn't believe? This is one of them. I woke up about a week ago near Gi Yuin Village with no memory of how I got there. I asked people about my home, but no one knew what I was talking about, as if my village had never existed, and when I looked at a map of the continent, I… I couldn't recognize any of it. My village, my country, all of the lands and the places I've ever known to exist, none of them were in that map and no one I've met so far has even heard of them before. I'm in a part of the world I never even knew it existed up until now,"

While listening to Shujinko's words, Toph was also listening to this heart… And there were only three explanations she could come up with: Either Shujinko had such control over his emotions that he was capable of lying without eliciting an internal reaction from his body, or the guy was actually telling the truth, as nonsensical as it was. It was also possible that Shujinko was just telling her what he believed to be the truth, but that would require some serious psychological issues on his behalf, and with the exception of this wacky story, Shujinko seemed to act, think, and speak like a completely normal person. All three scenarios were unlikely, especially the idea of Shujinko telling the actual truth. What was Toph supposed to make of this?

"You probably think that I'm a liar or that I'm crazy, and I don't blame you for doing so. However, if there's one thing you can be sure of, it's that I want to go back home and see everyone I hold dear again more than anything in the world. Aang is the Avatar, and as far as I know, him, Sokka, and Katara are the only people who can help me and who are willing to do so, which means I have to help them out in return. You can laugh about it all you want, but from where I come from, that's what a true comrade does. That's what my village has taught me,"

Even with her mocking and haughty attitude, Toph simply couldn't find the will to offend or make fun of Shujinko. Regardless of whether she believed his story or not, he spoke with such seriousness and conviction that she found it hard to question him. And besides, if Shujinko's intentions were to lie to her, he had to be smart enough to realize that no one would buy such a farfetched story, which only made her think that there was a minuscule, yet real chance that Shujinko wasn't lying at all and that the places he spoke of indeed existed.

"In any case, that doesn't matter right now. If you want to become Aang's Earthbending teacher, that's up to you. We'll come back later today to see if you've made up your mind. Aang, let's go. Our job here is done for the time being," Shujinko said before turning around. As he began to walk away, Aang looked back at The Blind Bandit, wondering if he needed to say something else to her. However, he immediately realized that no other words needed to be uttered, and promptly left the place.

Toph simply stood there, pondering over Shujinko. That boy certainly gave the word 'uncertainty' a whole new meaning. All of her resentment she held towards him had changed, turned into a puddle of riddles and questions. Who was Shujinko? How did he get involved with the Avatar?

Regardless of whatever opinion she had of him, Toph found herself respecting Shujinko, at least to a degree. He didn't try to threaten her or used the knowledge of her true identity to blackmail her into teaching Earthbending to Aang. Instead, Shujinko humbly asked for her help and didn't treat her differently because of her blindness or her privileged status, the two things her parents seemed to care for the most. Being treated like a normal and independent human being felt… well, it felt nice, and it wasn't up until now that she realized that.

When he talked about how he wanted to return home, she detected genuine melancholy and maybe a bit of pain in his voice, and even though those places could very well be the product of Shujinko's imagination, Toph couldn't help but feel somewhat guilty for bringing that subject up.

She heard the voices of the guards calling her name. Toph let out a sigh and started walking back into the house, knowing full well that she was going to be thinking about this all day.

'Should I…'

000

|Several hours later|

Being the Avatar sure had its perks, Shujinko thought as he stared at the amount of food that was being brought to them by the servants of the Beifong family.

Before leaving The Blind Bandit alone, Shujinko had told her they were going to pay her a second visit that very same day, but the Ozuma never expected things would go this smoothly. After a couple of hours had passed, the members of Team Avatar reached the gates of the Beifong manor and were immediately stopped by the guards, who told them to get lost. Aang replied by saying he was the Avatar and that he humbly requested to see the Beifong family, and before the guards had the chance to ask for proof, he performed a flashy Airbending demonstration to erase any doubts that they had.

The head of the Beifong family, Lao Beifong, was informed of this and immediately instructed his guards to allow the Avatar and his friends to come inside. After formally introducing themselves to Lao, he basically showered them with the finest dishes that a man of his status could provide, as well as other expensive delicacies. They all sat at a table and started eating, making use of proper manners… Except for Sokka, who was wolfing down as many sweets as he could while the servants replaced the empty plates every three minutes.

"It is truly a great honor to have you here with us, Avatar Aang," Lao Beifong began to say. "Please excuse us if you find our reception to be lacking. Had we known of your arrival with a bit more of anticipation, we would've arranged a banquet, one that would meet the expectations of a guest as distinguished as you are,"

"You don't have to worry about that, Mr. Beifong, and thank you for your kindness," Aang replied, his voice a little more tense than usual. The Blind Bandit had yet to show up, and he feared she would not come at all. Was she trying to avoid them?

"Think nothing of it. Please indulge yourself. You may eat and drink as much as you wish. It's the least we can do for you as your hosts,"

The eyes of Sokka shone with glee. "Did you hear that, Katara? He said we can eat and drink as much as we wish! The Beifong family sure knows how to treat guests, am I right?" Sokka asked, still chewing a mouthful of roasted duck. Katara pressed her lips together while one of her eyes began to twitch, embarrassed by her brother's lack of restraint when it came to food. Her twitch got even worse when she noticed a trickle of sauce dribbling down the corner of Sokka's mouth.

Poppy Beifong, Lao's wife, gestured one of the servants to bring more tea. "Avatar Aang, if you don't mind the question, when do you think the war against the Fire Nation will come to an end?"

"It's hard to say, but I would like to stop the conflict once and for all somewhere around summer," the Avatar said while Poppy 'hummed' in understanding, zipping on her tea. Aang gave Shujinko an expectant stare, and the Chunin returned the gesture with a soft nod before grabbing a pair of chopsticks. "However, before that can happen, I need to learn Earthbending from an exceptional teacher,"

"An exceptional teacher?" Lao repeated. "Well, I would be glad to introduce you to Master Yu. He's not here with us at the moment, but I can assure you he's the finest earthbender in all of the land. He even teaches Earthbending to our daughter,"

Both Shujinko and Aang shared a brief look. It was more than obvious who Lao's daughter was, but of course, they had to feign ignorance in order to avoid any suspicions. "I didn't know you have a daughter, Mr. Beifong," Shujinko commented, adopting a casual and innocent tone of voice.

Lao merely gave Shujinko a side-glance, clearly not very interested in speaking to someone who wasn't the Avatar. "Yes, well, I happen to have a daughter. Her name is Toph, and as I was saying, Master Yu is supervising her Earthbending. Unfortunately, Toph was born blind, and she's quite delicate as well, so we allowed Mater Yu to become her teacher under the strict condition that he would never teach her anything that might be remotely dangerous,"

'So The Blind Bandit's full name is Toph Beifong,' Aang thought. He immediately realized there was something that wasn't making a whole lot of sense. It was true that he had only attended one of Master Yu's classes, but from what he could tell, the man didn't seem to be anywhere near as good as Toph when it came to Earthbending. It was hard to believe that Toph owed her outstanding abilities to someone like Mater Yu, which could only mean one of two things: Either Master Yu was much better at Earthbending than what he let on (and he also taught Toph a lot more behind her parents' back), or Toph had learned Earthbending from someone else, also behind her parents' back. 'No wonder Shujinko is always trying to deduce stuff. I feel like a super smart detective,'

"Is there any chance we could meet her?" Katara asked. "I'm sure we could become friends with your daughter,"

"Oh, I'm not sure if that's possible. Toph doesn't feel safe around strangers and gets frightened quite easily. And besides, she's currently not feeling very well. When we told her we had visitors, she said she was experiencing a small headache, the poor thing. Our doctor assured us there was nothing to be afraid of and that Toph simply needed to stay in bed and rest. I imagine you can understand our concerns,"

Under normal circumstances, Shujinko would've snorted. Toph had a headache right before they came here? What were the odds of that? Also, it didn't take a genius to figure out that Toph's parents were absolutely oblivious about their daughter and her activities. Toph may be blind, but she was a damn good earthbender, and she certainly wasn't delicate.

Shujinko didn't know much about parenting himself, but he certainly knew one thing for sure: Lao and Poppy Beifong could've never raised a kid to become a ninja, not with their overprotectiveness.

After enjoying a meal worthy of a king, the four teens were lead to a living room where they could rest and spend the night. They all sat down on big cushioned pillows, feeling tired after all the food they had just eaten. Even Shujinko, who generally never stuffed his stomach while he was away from his village, couldn't resist the temptation of trying out foreign cuisine and ended up having one or two bowls too many. 'Damn roasted duck, why does it have to taste so good?' the Chunin thought, rubbing his inflated belly.

"Honestly, I don't care what anyone says. Visiting the Beifong family has been our best idea thus far. We should've come here a long time ago," Sokka said as he made himself comfortable. He knew that convincing Toph to become Aang's teacher was important and all, but after weeks of eating vegetable soups and leftovers, filling his stomach with delicious, juicy meat was more than enough to make Sokka forget about all his worries.

"You know, I kinda' feel bad for Toph," Katara commented as she stared at the ceiling. "I get that her parents are trying to protect her and all, but don't you guys think they're exaggerating a little?"

Shujinko nodded. "I agree with you, Katara. This is gonna' sound a bit ironic, but in a way, Mr. and Mrs. Beifong are just as blind as Toph is. Speaking of which, she may be blind, but she can still see everything around her somehow. I wonder how she does it,"

"Wouldn't you like to know,"

Everyone turned their heads around to see who had just spoken. To their surprise, Toph was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. She was wearing a simple, yet still elegant pajama, and she had undone her hair's braids, wearing it loose like the day they first met her.

"Toph?" Aang wasn't expecting to see The Blind Bandit, at least not today. He was under the impression that Toph wanted nothing to do with them after the conversation she had with Shujinko and him. "… Huhm, hey there. We didn't see you at dinner," the Avatar lamely said.

Toph raised an eyebrow. "Maybe that's because I wasn't there. That whole headache thing was just an excuse I came up with to avoid having to attend dinner. I knew it would work, given how gullible and overly concerned my parents are,"

Shujinko wasn't the least bit surprised by that. If Toph was capable of hiding her secret identity to her parents, then surely coming up with an excuse to absent herself from dinner was a piece of cake for The Blind Bandit. "So why are you here now?"

"I'm here because…Because I have to keep the end of my bargain, and because I hate owing stuff to people,"

After the conversation she had with Shujinko earlier that day, Toph was left wondering what kind of person the Chunin was. It would've been easier to brush aside his story as mere nonsense, but deep down, she knew there had to be at least some degree of truth to his words. Finding out what sort of trick Shujinko pulled on her during their fight faded into the background as she was now more interested in learning more about the guy, because if his inconceivable story turned out to be real, then there were thousands of questions that Toph wanted an answer to. The fact that he was traveling with the Avatar only made her more eager to discover the authenticity of his narrative.

"Anyways, let's go for a walk, Twinkle Toes," Toph said while facing Aang. The monk looked around with a lost expression on his face.

"Wait, are you talking to me? I'm Twinkle Toes?"

"That's right. You're way too light on your feet to not deserve that nickname. So let's get going, Twinkle Toes. My parents think that I'm asleep, but the guards are still making their rounds, so we can't stay outside all night,"

Aang wasn't sure what had caused Toph to change her attitude, but that was the least important thing at the moment. With a bright smile on his face, he said goodbye to his friends and promised them to be back in a couple of minutes. The Avatar followed The Blind Bandit outside, leaving Shujinko and the Water Tribe siblings alone.

Shujinko couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. Just like Toph, he had also noticed how Aang's steps were delicate and gentle most of the time. Shujinko had picked up on this because he was a ninja, and ninjas were trained not only to move as silently as a ghost, but also to detect the presence of hidden enemies who erased the sound of their footsteps. Was Toph's sense of hearing really that developed or did she have a secret ability he wasn't aware of?

"Huh, what d'ya know? Looks like your plan worked after all, Shujinko," Sokka commented.

"I sure hope so, Sokka. I sure hope so,"

* * *

Aaaand that was chapter 7. Hope you all liked it.

As it turns out, I'm going to split the blind bandit episode into three chapters. I feel more comfortable working that way.

Also, what's your opinion on Shujinko's deduction scene? Please take into consideration that Shujinko has been training with Kakashi for eight months now, and his training wasn't just about learning Ninjutsu or becoming a better fighter. Kakashi taught Shujinko how to think like a shinobi, and thinking like a shinobi means being somewhat of a detective. Shujinko might not have an IQ of over 200 like Shikamaru, but he's still shrewd and analytical, more so than his Genin version of himself.

Don't forget to Review, Favorite & Follow

Peace!


	8. Chapter 8 (part 3)

**CHAPTER 8: THE BLIND BANDIT (PART 3)**

(Disclaimer: Avatar The Last Airbender belongs to Nickelodeon and Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. I only own my OC's)

(PLEASE READ: THIS IS NOT A SEQUEL TO "SHUJINKO: THE FOURTH MEMBER", BUT A DIFFERENT STORY WITH SHUJINKO AS THE MAIN CHARACTER. THIS STORY WILL NOT HAVE ANY EFFECT WHATSOEVER IN "SHUJINKO SHIPPUDEN". I REPEAT, THIS IS NOT A SEQUEL TO SHUJINKO'S ORIGINAL STORY)

Summary: One night, a stranger breaks into Shujinko's house and tries to steal one of the most mystical objects in the history of the Ozuma clan: The Eye of Kazemaru. When Shujinko tries to stop him, the two of them activate an ancient and forgotten power of the gem by accident, which sends them to another dimension where a certain bald-headed monk has to master the four elements in order to defeat the evil Fire Lord. What kind of impact will Shujinko's presence have in the Avatar universe? Who is this stranger and what does he want? Get ready for one wild space-time adventure

* * *

"Even though I'm blind, I never had much of a problem when it comes to seeing," Toph said to Aang as she walked on the parapet of a small wooden bridge outside of her house, maintaining her balance with ease. "You could say I use Earthbending to see through my feet. Everything that directly or indirectly touches the ground sends vibrations, and thanks to Earthbending, my feet become ears that listen to those vibrations. That's how I can tell where everything is," And just to prove her point, Toph performed a summersault when she was about to reach the end of the parapet.

"Does that mean you can see just as well as I can?" Aang asked, fascinated by what he was hearing.

"That's right. In fact, I probably see a lot better than you, except that I see things in a different way. For example, I might not be able to see them, but I can feel the vibrations of the ants climbing up that tree over there, as well as the vibrations of that Meadow Vole running by. I listen to the earth, and the earth responds to me,"

Aang managed to catch sight of the Meadow Vole that Toph was pointing her finger at right before the rodent disappeared. He then turned around and smiled at the girl. "That's truly amazing, Toph. It's kinda' like your blindness became a blessing instead of a burden,"

To the monk's surprise, Toph lowered her head and frowned sadly at his words. "My parents don't think the same. To them, I'm nothing but a helpless blind girl who needs protection from everything and everyone. I know their intentions are good and that they care about me, but they won't let me be who I really am,"

And that was the worst part of it all. Toph wanted her parents to love her, but she wanted them to love her just for whom she was, whom she truly was. She was tired of acting, tired of pretending to be someone else, tired of impersonating the perfect doll that her parents wanted her to be. At the same time, Toph was afraid of losing her parents' love if they ever found out just how much their daughter was hiding behind their backs, because regardless of her amazing Earthbending skills and her bravado, she was still a young girl who had her own insecurities just like anyone else.

Aang grimaced slightly. While he understood what Toph was saying, he couldn't fully relate to her. Not once had he ever felt the need to hide his true personality from others, much less from people he personally knew. "Is that why you became The Blind Bandit? Because you wanted more freedom?"

"Yeah, pretty much,"

"Then why stay here where you're not happy? Haven't you ever considered going somewhere else?"

"Of course I have, more times than I can count. But it's not as easy as you think it is. And besides, where am I supposed to go?"

"… You could come with us," Aang offered. "You already know I need to learn Earthbending, and I know I have to learn it from you. If not for that, then think of everything you're missing out on. I've been traveling with Sokka and Katara for months now, and Shujinko joined us not too long ago. We get into some pretty wild situations every now and then, but you have no idea how much fun it has been, and you can be part of that fun too if you want,"

Toph let out a sigh. "Traveling around the world, with no parents telling you what to do, I would give everything to have that kind of life. I'm jealous of you guys,"

The wind blew a gentle breeze, playing with the leaves of the trees. A thin veil of clouds drifted away, revealing a full moon so bright it seemed to illuminate almost as much as the sun during the day. Aang stared at the sky in silence, wishing that Toph had functioning eyes just so that she could see what he was seeing right now. Her blindness might have been one of the reasons why Toph was such an outstanding earthbender, but no matter how good she was at Earthbending, she would never have the privilege of watching the moon and the surrounding stars during a night like this one.

"Was he telling the truth?"

Aang blinked in confusion. "Huhm, who are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about Shujinko, the guy who was with you when you first came here. He said he was lost and that he had no idea how to return to his village, wherever that is. Is he really that far away from his home?"

"Well, it certainly seems that way. Apparently, he comes from a very distant part of the world, where things are much, much different. Shujinko didn't know anything about bending or the war that's been going on. I know it sounds crazy, but after seeing what he can do, I think I have no other choice but to believe him. I've never met someone like Shujinko before,"

"... I see… And what do you mean when you say you've never met someone like him before?"

Scratching his cheek, Aang began to ponder how to describe Shujinko as accurate as possible, which soon proved to be a difficult task when he realized just how out of the ordinary the Chunin was. "I'm not sure where to start. He's… pragmatic, I suppose. Going back to his village is what matters the most to Shujinko, but he's willing to help us out, and so we're trying to help him out in return. He's very proactive, and he likes being in charge of the situation. According to him, he's a ninja. A ninja is… Well, it's kind of hard to explain, but he can do Ninjutsu, which is… Huhm, I guess it's similar to bending, but not really,"

Toph raised an eyebrow. "Well, that sure tells me a lot," she said, to which Aang chuckled awkwardly.

"I know. Shujinko can explain it way better than I can… But when I really think about it, his Ninjutsu is not what surprises me the most about him. Regardless of how different Shujinko is, he's still like us. He cares for us and does whatever he thinks it's best for the group, but because he was raised differently, it's easy to misunderstand his actions sometimes. There are a lot of things about Shujinko I still don't know, but what I do know is that I was destined to meet him, the same way I was destined to meet you. He's a good guy, and I trust him,"

Aang found himself slightly surprised by the words he himself had just spoken. Maybe it was because he hadn't bothered to formulate a general opinion of Shujinko up until this point, but now that he had, he was actually glad for the kind of person Shujinko turned out to be. Despite not knowing him the way he knew Sokka and Katara, Aang was beginning to understand who Shujinko was, and he admired him for how he was dealing with all of this. The level of maturity he displayed in the face of uncertainty was incredible, because Aang knew perfectly well how it felt to be so far away from the place you called home.

"Is that so?" Toph asked. "Well, he sounds like an interesting guy, I'll give him that. I wonder if-" Suddenly, the sounds of bells ringing caught the two teen's attention. They both turned around, and Aang saw a column of smoke coming from the other side of the garden, right behind the house. "What's going on? Why are they ringing the alarm bells for?"

"I think there's a fire going on!" Aang exclaimed. "It doesn't look too big, but it could be dangerous. We have to put it out before it spreads. Come on, let's go!"

"Wait! Something isn't right, Twinkletoes! We're being surround-!"

BAAAAAAAMMM

…

|Meanwhile|

"Someone better have a good explanation for this!" Shujinko shouted as he, Sokka, and several servants carried buckets filled with water and threw them at the burning tree, trying to keep the fire at bay while Katara returned from the pond.

Three minutes ago, Shujinko, Sokka, and Katara were in the guest room waiting for Aang and Toph to return, and out of nowhere, the bells from the alarm tower started ringing, causing quite a bit of hysteria inside the Beifong Estate. Shujinko immediately opened the window and saw smoke rising, only to find that a tree had somehow caught fire. He and Sokka immediately joined the guards and the servants and started filling buckets of water. Meanwhile, Katara went to the pond and was currently drawing as much water as she could.

Shujinko cursed to himself. He didn't have a single Water Release jutsu in his arsenal. His prowess in Elemental Ninjutsu focused almost primarily on Wind Release, and using Wind Release against a burning tree was a recipe for disaster right now. Throwing buckets of water at it was slowing down the spread of fire, but only barely, and there was no telling how disastrous the situation would become if the fire reached the house.

"How much longer, sis!?" Sokka shouted, using a water fountain to fill two buckets.

"I'm on it!" Katara replied as she entered the scene, performing circular motions with her arms and carrying a huge blob of water over her head. Once she was close enough, Katara thrusted her arms and sent the water over to the tree, quenching the flames until they disappeared completely.

Now that the danger had been neutralized, Katara let out a tired huff and wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. The water of the pond was all the way in the other side of the Beifong Estate, and carrying that much water from one point to another had left her slightly exhausted. When she looked up, she saw that what was once a beautiful, growing tree was now little more than black wood that barely stood on its own, fragile and ugly. Even though they had managed to prevent a major catastrophe from occurring, it still saddened Katara to see something full of life and nature being nearly reduced to ashes.

"Phew, that was a close one," Sokka said as he sat on the ground. His arms were aching after filling and throwing buckets of water like a madman. "I think we've earned the right to stay another night as honored guests. That fire could've really done a number on this place,"

"What I want to know is who or what started this mess. Trees don't simply start burning out of nothing," Shujinko replied. Back in the Hidden Leaf Village, issues such as forest fires were taken very seriously, for something as simple as a misdirected Fire Style jutsu or even hot embers being blown by the wind could start a massive wildfire and cause untold damage to the forests surrounding the village. "By the way, where are Aang and Toph? They were on the other side of the garden, but it's impossible that they could've missed this,"

The Water tribe siblings shared a look of disbelief. Among so much chaos, they had completely forgotten about the Avatar and The Blind Bandit, who could've helped them put out the fire faster had they been there. Shujinko's eyes widened as an alarming possibility crossed his mind, and his reaction did not go unnoticed by Katara. "Shujinko, are you al-"

Shujinko did not allow Katara to finish and, before the astonished gaze of everyone around him, he turned around and started running to the other side of the garden. He was immediately followed by Katara, who was also beginning to suspect that something was wrong. "Hey, where are you going? Can't we just sit for a minute before… Oh, man, this sucks," Sokka complained. Nevertheless, he got up and began jogging after his sister.

When the Ozuma reached the other side of the garden, he saw that neither Toph nor Aang were there. However, his eyes caught sight of strange marks on the ground next to the wall, and he went there to investigate what had happened. Once he got there, Shujinko recognized signs of struggle in the form of disfigured lines of earth, as well as a hole on the ground. Someone had used Earthbending to get into the Beifong Estate, and his worst fears were confirmed when he saw a note pinned to the wall with an iron stake.

_If you want to see your daughter again, bring 500 gold pieces to the Arena tonight._

_Xin Fu and The Boulder_

As Katara read the note left by Xin Fu and The Boulder, Shujinko was clenching his fists in anger. Those bastards were the ones who had caused the fire as a distraction, all for the sake of kidnapping Toph and demanding a ransom. The note did not mention Aang, but it was more than likely that he was being held captive as well. 'But I thought that no one knew of Toph's existence as a Beifong except for her parents. How were they able to find out about her?'

Meanwhile, Toph's parents were in complete and utter shock. It was like a nightmare coming true to them. Her mother Poppy was on her knees, balling her eyes out in despair while Lao was holding her hand, looking like he was seconds away from suffering a full-scale panic attack. Shujinko would've tried to comfort them, but right now, he was more focused on planning the next course of action. After all, he was a ninja, and these were the kind of situations ninjas were used to dealing with.

"This… This can't be happening…" Sokka choked as he placed both his hands on the sides of his head, shock and incredulity all too clear in his shaky voice… only for him to snatch the note away from her sisters' hands. "I HAVE THE BOULDER'S AUTOGRAPH!"

"Sokka, are you serious right now? Aang and Toph just got kidnapped and you care more about a stupid autograph?" Shujinko asked, a thick vein growing on his temple. He couldn't believe how someone older than him could display such idiocy at a time like this. Sweet Kami, not even _Naruto_, who was a dunderhead in many ways, would act so buffoonish upon knowing that one of his friends had been captured.

"Hey! I'll have you know, I've wanted an autograph from The Boulder ever since I first saw him! Stop raining on my parade, will you?"

Katara was unable to deal with his brother's antics any longer and didn't hesitate to seize the note from Sokka, turning it into a paper ball and tossing it over her shoulder, causing Sokka to shriek in horror as he went after it. "We can't waste any more time. Let's go to the Arena straight away,"

Shujinko nodded in agreement before facing Toph's father. "Mr. Beifong, do you have the money these guys are asking in exchange?"

"Of course I do!" Lao replied hysterically. He then turned around and ordered one of his servants to call Master Yu and tell him his help was needed for an unbelievably important emergency. Meanwhile, Sokka was kneeling on all fours, desperately trying to restore his treasure to its former glory by carefully stretching out the piece of paper in his hands. Once Lao had left to gather the money stored inside his chambers, Poppy sniffled and raised her trembling voice. "… Toph… My sweet, innocent baby…" she hiccupped. "She has no idea what's going on. Oh, she must be feeling so terrified, so desperate and frightened…"

* * *

|Earth Rumble Arena|

"I SWEAR, ONCE I GET OUT OF THIS THING, I WILL KICK YOUR BUTTS SO HARD YOU'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO SIT AGAIN!" Toph hollered at the very top of her lungs, her face contorted with fury. She was grabbing the metal bars of her cage so hard that her knuckles had turned white and her fingers were threatening to snap.

Aang could only cover his ears and hope that Toph's explosive voice wouldn't cause irreparable damage to them. They were both locked up inside a rectangular cage made out of metal, which heavily restricted their movements. Their respective cages were connected to a chain attached to the top of the Arena, leaving them stranded in the middle of the air. This made it impossible for Toph to use Earthbending in order to escape given how she couldn't connect with the earth from such a distance. It was that helplessness that was driving The Blind Bandit insane, and the only way she could vent some of her frustration was by shouting threats.

"Keep it quiet. You're not getting out of there until I have my money," Xin Fu replied, standing in the Arena with a stern look on his face. "This will teach you what happens when you try to cheat Xin Fu,"

"Mr. Fu, I think there's a bit of a misunderstanding going on. We have never cheated you, nor do we have a reason to do so," Aang said in an attempt to reason with the man.

"Misunderstanding? Ha! That's a good joke, but not good enough to save you, and it won't save The Blind Bandit either. This is what she gets for being a dirty little schemer," Xin Fu couldn't help but smirk upon seeing the look on the teens' faces. "Oh, yes, you thought I wouldn't notice. You and your friend Lee thought you could execute your farce without suffering any consequences, but no one takes Xin Fu for a fool and gets away with it,"

For the first time since she got captured, Toph lowered her voice, although her tone was still hostile. "What do you mean?"

The Boulder, who was standing next to Xin Fu with his bulky arms crossed, was the one who responded. "The Boulder was watching the fight from up close. That boy Lee did not deliver the final blow. His hand did not make contact with The Blind Bandit at the last moment, and yet The Blind Bandit was still thrown out of the ring. It was all a performance by you two!"

"Indeed, and I won't tolerate any such performances in my Arena. You disappoint me, Blind Bandit, or should I call you Beifong instead?" Xin Fu asked. When he heard no answer, he continued to speak. "You must be wondering how I discovered your secret. I know this Arena like the palm of my hand, including all its hidden tunnels. You're quite the talented earthbender, but you're also careless. Ever since you first showed your face here, I noticed that you were getting in and out of the Arena using the same inside path as always, which you can open and close thanks to your Earthbending. And what is the nearest location once outside the entrance of the tunnel? Why it just so happens to be the Beifong Estate. Quite convenient for you, I imagine,"

Toph gritted her teeth. She never would've expected Xin Fu to discover her method, but that chump had proven to be a lot more shrewd and observant than what she gave him credit for. The hidden tunnel Xin Fu was talking about was a passage inside the cave that gave people from the outside direct access into the lower grounds of the Arena. The overall distance between the Beifong Estate and the entrance of said passage was more or less short, and since Toph wanted to avoid being spotted by the crowds, using the secret tunnel was the best and only alternative she had.

"I never bothered to fully investigate your true identity, Blind Bandit. So what if the Beifong family had a daughter no one else knew about? I was making good money thanks to you, that's all I cared about. But after you took that dive during your last match against Rock Lee or whatever his stupid nickname is, I was forced to look into you. I will never forgive or forget anyone who dares to make a mockery of my tournament," Right after Xin Fu said those words, the sounds of footsteps were heard coming from the entrance. Xin Fu turned around and saw two adults and a bunch of teens, including Rock Lee, who was holding a heavy bag in his hand.

Before they had arrived at the Arena, Shujinko made it very clear to them that he would be the one who would hand over the money to the captors. When Lao had asked why him instead of Master Yu, Shujinko said that he had 'a certain amount of experience on the matter' and that he wanted to make sure both Aang and Top were safe before the money was given to them. His arguments weren't enough to convince neither Lao nor Master Yu, but once the golden-eyed boy seized the bag of gold, he refused to let anyone else carry it.

"I see you received my message. Did you bring all the gold?"

"Yes mister, we brought the gold. Now release my daughter, please," Lao begged. Shujinko, however, remained in his spot, causing Lao to glare at him. "Go on, what are you waiting for? Give him the money now, boy,"

"Not so fast. I want to make sure of a couple of things first," was Shujinko's reply. The Chunin focused his gaze on Aang and Toph, who were imprisoned inside two metal cages that were lifted off the ground. The cages were supported by a chain mechanism attached to the top of the Arena, but he was unable to tell where the lever was. 'I need to stall them for a bit. If negotiations turn south, we might have to fight our way out of here,' Shujinko thought. "Aang, Toph, are you guys alright?" he asked out loud.

"I'm okay!" Aang answered, but Toph remained silent.

Shujinko nodded. "Good. Now listen up, Xin Fu. There's no need for the authorities to know about this, and we can make this transaction work without resorting to violence, so here's what's going to happen. You'll release our friends, and once the two of them reach our side, then we'll hand over the money,"

The reactions that Shujinko's words caused were as diverse as they were predictable. Both Xin Fu and The Boulder let out a hoarse laugh while the Water Tribe siblings stared at Shujinko in mild shock. Master Yu's jaw had dropped, but it was Lao Beifong who was feeling the most appalled. The man started to pull his own hair in a fit of desperation, for he couldn't conceive how the boy had the audacity to bargain with those ruffians when his daughter's safety was on the line. Such was his disbelief that he couldn't even find the words to articulate a sentence, and so he started spewing a bunch of gibberish.

"Do you truly think that you're in a position to negotiate?" Xin Fu asked once the laughter had died down, although a mocking smirk was still adorning his face. "Give me one good reason why should I listen to you instead of ending this meeting right here and now,"

The Ozuma narrowed his eyes and put on his best poker face. "Instead of just one reason, I'll go ahead and give you two. The first reason is that you're not getting this money if you don't meet our conditions. The second reason is that, in the event that you finish this meeting before it's over, Mr. Beifong here will put a bounty on you. Trust me, this money right here will be worthless compared to the reward Mr. Beifong will offer. Each and every single bounty hunter inside and outside the Earth Kingdom will know your name and your face. A guy like you must be aware of how driven people are when they're promised a bag full of gold. How driven do you think they'll become once they're promised a _chamber _full of gold?"

This time, those who were present in the Arena reacted with complete silence. The smirk on Xin Fu's face evaporated and was promptly replaced with his everyday stoical face. Lao Beifong, who was freaking out a minute ago, was now simply dumbfounded by Shujinko's words. They never discussed any of this on their way to the Arena, and he was so fixated on getting his daughter back that he didn't even consider placing demands on the table out of fear of angering Toph's captors. As for Katara and Sokka, they couldn't say they knew what was going on exactly, but they decided it was better to keep their mouths closed for the time being and see where this was heading to.

Of course, nothing that Shujinko had just said was true. It was all just a big bluff. He had no idea whether if the Beifong family was wealthy enough to offer a chamber full of gold as a reward or not, and if they were, Lao Beifong definitely didn't have the courage to stand up to Xin Fu and make these sort of threats right now, empty or otherwise. The Chunin understood that Lao was worried about her daughter and that he just wanted her back home, and while he sympathized with the man, it was a fact that Lao lacked the emotional control and the backbone required to deal with this situation appropriately, at least from the perspective of a shinobi.

That was the reason why Shujinko hadn't revealed his intentions of negotiating with Xin Fu on their way to the Arena, because if he had, Lao would've opposed his plan and would've caused a scene if Shujinko tried to go through with it regardless. It wasn't a very good strategy, but the Ozuma hoped that keeping Lao and everyone else in the dark up until this moment would prevent them from blabbering in front of Xin Fu and make themselves look weak.

Shinobi negotiation rule number one: Never look like you're in a weak or desperate position, even if you are.

"It looks like you didn't come here with only one card in your hand. How very interesting," Xin Fu mused out loud. "I suppose this was all part of your scheme, Lao Beifong. You presented yourself before me as a scared father who just wanted his daughter to return to safety, but then this brat jumps in and starts making your demands on your behalf. Unnecessarily theatrical, but astute nonetheless,"

"That's right! Bet you didn't see this coming, did ya'?" Sokka said all of a sudden. Without being told of the plan beforehand, Sokka had realized what Shujinko was trying to do and decided to act the part. "This was our plan all along. Right, Katara?"

"Huh?" Katara didn't quite get the message until Sokka gently nudged her ribs with his elbow. "I-I mean, of course. The plan, yeah…"

Despite addressing Lao Beifong as the one who had come up with this, Xin Fu could smell the fear coming from that weakling, and both his facial expression and his body gestures were indicating Xin Fu that The Blind Bandit's father was just as confused as he was scared. Unlike Rock Lee, who was looking at him with a stone-cold expression and showing much, much more fortitude and confidence. It gave the impression that he was the one behind the idea of turning him into a wanted man should he deny their requests, and that he was using the wealth of the Beifong family as a way of giving substance to his threats. The boy wasn't crumbling under the pressure and was maintaining a cool head so far, which was odd considering his young age.

"Very well, then. I'll play your little game. We will release the first prisoner, and then you will hand over the money immediately after. Only then will the second be released," Xin Fu said.

Shujinko's frown deepened. This wasn't exactly how he wanted the exchange to proceed, but he supposed it was an improvement. Besides, there was the risk of Xin Fu calling out his bluff if he delayed the negotiations too much, and with that in mind, Shujinko nodded in agreement. "Fine. Let's do this,"

Xin Fu then instructed The Boulder to let Toph go. The Boulder nodded and left the stage, and after a short while, Toph's cage was lowered and consequentially opened. The Blind Bandit landed on the ground and made her way to her father, who almost immediately pulled her into a hug. "Oh, my sweet, sweet girl. I finally have you back with me. Don't worry, we'll head back home immediately. There's no need to be afraid any longer,"

Toph didn't reply, but her jaws tightened in immense frustration. Afraid, her? Never, not by the likes of Xin Fu and his goons. Had it been up to her, Toph would've broken out of her cage, single-handedly mop the floor with those bozos and return to her house with Aang. And yet here she was, walking out of a fight while her hand was held by a father who, despite loving her daughter, didn't know her or understood her in the slightest. It was all so unfair, so unlike her. Only the presence of Lao was preventing her from acting like the real Toph right now… and that was exactly the problem.

"We gave you The Blind Bandit," Xin Fu said out loud. "Now give us the money if you want your other friend back,"

After making sure the knot was tight enough, Shujinko threw the bag of money at Xin Fu's feet, who picked it up and opened it. His eyes shone with greed, and a malicious smile crept over his face in a way that reminded Shujinko of Gato, the ruthless businessman who deliberately made life almost impossible to the people in the Land of Waves. He didn't like the look on his face, so Shujinko decided to speed things up before Xin Fu had the opportunity to put the deal at risk. "There, all the money you asked is in that bag. Now release Aang so that we can call this a day and move on,"

"Actually, there's been a slight change of plans. Your friend here will be staying with us for a while, and you're not gonna convince me otherwise," Xin Fu replied.

"What!? Hey, you can't be serious about this! We had a deal!" Sokka protested.

Katara followed right after. "We already gave you the money! Why would you want to keep Aang?"

In response, Xin Fu grabbed a wanted poster with the picture of Aang in it and held it in front of them. "It has come to my attention that your friend is none other than the Avatar in the flesh. These 500 gold pieces that I'm holding will be a drop in the bucket compared to what we'll get from the Fire Nation if we turn him over. You've tried to fool me once again, this time by hiding the Avatar's identity, but Xin Fu will never be fooled by a bunch of kids,"

'Damn it, this is bad,' Shujinko raged inside his mind. This changed everything. He didn't know how much the Fire Nation offered in exchange for their number one enemy, but it sure had to be a lot more gold than what the Beifong family had inside their chests, and there was no way Xin Fu was going to let an opportunity like this slip away. Greedy bastards such as him rarely listened to reason, but Shujinko decided to make one last attempt before he had to resort to violence. "Think about what you're doing, Xin Fu. If you try to escape the Earth Kingdom with Aang as a hostage, Mr. Beifong will still send bounty hunters after you. There's no way you can reach the Fire Nation before they track you down and bring you here in chains,"

"I think I'll take my chances," Xin Fu replied without missing a beat. He then started shaking the bag with the 500 gold pieces in it, making a jingling sound. "And besides, this money right here will make our plan of escape that much easier to follow. Now get out of my ring and never come back,"

It was officially a done deal. Under no circumstance was Shujinko going to allow that jackass to escape with Aang, even if it meant breaking a couple of bones in Xin Fu's body. The Chunin started walking towards Xin Fu, but then, the ground began to tremble. Several individuals appeared, either by jumping into the ring from the stands or popping out of the ground like gophers, and they all stood behind the muscular earthbender. Shujinko quickly recognized them, as they were the fighters that had participated in the Earth Rumble tournament from yesterday. 'So these guys are working together, huh?'

"I'd be careful if I were you, Rock Lee. You might have defeated The Blind Bandit, but you can't hope to beat all of us at the same time,"

"We'll just have to see about that, you pinhead," Shujinko taunted. But while he looked confident and ready on the surface, his mind was assessing the situation at an accelerated pace, and he didn't like where this confrontation was going.

Not being able to fight using all of his abilities was a real handicap. If he wanted to, he could use Ninjutsu to take them down with ease, but doing so would most likely create huge problems for him and the group. People here were unaware of the existence of ninjas, and if stories began to spread about a teenager who could do all sorts of impossible feats such as cloning himself and manipulate the wind, it would draw far too much attention on both him and the rest of the group. Shujinko could only use Taijutsu against them, and even then he had to be careful not to fight at full strength.

'This is going to be complicated. I don't want to use lethal force on any of them, but if they might leave me no other option…'

"Toph, we need your help!" Katara cried out as she saw Lao and her daughter heading to the exit. "We know what you're capable of, you don't have to hide it any longer!"

Lao turned around, a scandalized expression on his face. "How can you even think about asking my daughter for help!? Unlike you troublemakers, she's blind! She's blind and fragile and sensible and-!"

But then, much to Lao's shock, Toph rejected his hand and started walking away from him. "That's enough. I may be blind, but I'm not any of the other things you just said about me," Toph said with a tone of voice Lao had never heard his daughter use. She was fed up with all the acting and the deception she constantly had to resort to. It was time to show the world who Toph really was once and for all, and she was going to start by showing it to her father.

When she finally made it to the center of the ring, Shujinko gave her a somewhat amusing stare. "How nice of you to join me. I was wondering if I was going to have to take care of these guys by myself,"

"And let you have all the fun? Keep dreaming," Toph replied as she cracked her knuckles. "You might want to sit this one out. Things are about to get real dusty over here if you catch my drift,"

The Chunin smirked. "I think I do, but don't worry about me. I have a few tricks up my sleeve,"

BAAM

The sound of Xin Fu stomping his foot on the ground caught their attention. The man was glaring intensely at them, clearly having run out of patience. "This is your last warning. Get out of my sight this very moment, you pair of scoundrels,"

The Blind Bandit responded by spitting on the ground rather loudly, making her father cringe in disgust. "Are you chumps done talking? Because I'm itching to beat the snot out of all of you, and I don't know if I can wait any longer,"

Those words were enough to trigger a stampede of earthbenders coming directly towards them. Shujinko and Toph both got into a fighting stance, waiting for them to get closer. For a shinobi such as Shujinko, it was almost laughable how impulsive and quick-tempered these people were. Instead of attempting anything that resembled a strategy, those earthbenders were going to charge at them and simply throw rocks around until everything inside the Arena was demolished. Only Xin Fu had been smart enough to take a step back and wait until the end of the fight before he made his move.

Toph slowly began to raise her arms, and once her opponents had gotten close enough, she ducked down and smacked the ground with her open palms, completely shattering the surface of the ring and raising a huge, dense cloud of dirt from the earth's fissures. Her captors were sweep off their feet, and once they got back up, they found themselves unable to see anything but soil and dust.

'So this is what she meant, huh?' Shujinko thought as Toph entered the cloud she had created. It was quite ingenious, honestly. By doing this, Toph had effectively blinded the fighters, leaving them vulnerable to her attacks. Since Toph was blind herself, the thick dust would be anything but an issue for her. That girl didn't rely on her eyes to see.

But what about Shujinko? The cloud of dust was affecting his eyesight just as much as it affected the others', and it wasn't like he had the Hyuuga's Byakugan. If he decided to fight regardless, he ran the risk of hurting Toph by accident.

'I guess there's no other choice,' Shujinko took a deep breath and clasped his palms together. Then, for the first time since he had arrived to this exotic and astonishing new part of the world, Shujinko closed his eyes and called forth the power of nature. 'Karura Tensei,'

The physical changes that came with activating his Kekkei Genkai occurred almost immediately. Golden pigmentation started to appear on his face, surrounding his eyes and becoming linear marks that extended to his ears. His black pupils grew twice in size, and his golden irises covered all of his eyes' sclerae, giving his optical organs an uncanny resemblance to those of a hawk. The Chunin opened his eyes once again, now transformed into a Sage.

Without wasting any more time, he joined Toph and the two of them walked together amidst the heavy dust. The Karura Tensei, the Kekkei Genkai of the Ozuma clan, heightened Shujinko's senses to a different level, allowing him to perceive everything around him in a way he normally wouldn't be able to. His reflexes received a significant boost as well, which enabled him to react with great precision and speed. It didn't matter now whether he could see his enemies or not, because with the Karura Tensei, he could feel them.

However, as Shujinko sensed the energy of everyone in the Arena, he noticed something strange. Instead of an internal mass of chakra, these benders had a weird sort of energy flowing inside of them, one that Shujinko couldn't quite understand. He recalled how Aang once told him how chi was the source of a bender's power, the energy that allowed them to manipulate the element they had an affinity for. The Chunin had to assume this chi thing was the energy he was feeling right now, but he didn't have enough time to compare it to his own chakra as one of his opponents began to move closer to where he and Toph were.

The individual in question happened to be none other than the guy from the Fire Nation, who was actually an earthbender disguised as a Fire Nation citizen. He was walking across the ring searching for a way out, unaware of the teens' presence behind his back. When he turned around, he saw the two of them waiting for him in a fighting stance, and he immediately threw a heavy rock at Toph.

The blind girl smirked, expecting such amateurish reaction. Once the rock was about to reach her, she stopped it cold in its tracks, performed a complete spin and threw the rock back at the fake Fire Nation citizen, hitting his generous belly. The man stumbled back, holding his stomach in pain and out of breath. The last thing he saw before he was knocked out of the ring was the sole of Shujinko's boot, who leaped forward and delivered a kick directly at his face, stunning him and leaving him unconscious on the cold ground.

'One down, only six more to go,' Shujinko thought as he focused on dealing with his next opponent. The cloud of dust was starting to dissipate, meaning that their cover wasn't going to last for much longer. He needed to move and quickly.

While all of this was happening, Sokka had sneaked off and was currently trying his hardest to pull the lever that would lower Aang's cage, but the darn thing simply wouldn't budge despite his efforts. The Boulder had made it look easy, although the fact that he was a mountain of muscles probably had something to do with it. Sokka gritted his teeth and mustered all of his strength. After a while, he felt the lever slowly beginning to move. Katara, who was waiting for Sokka to pull the lever, remained hidden close to where the cage was going to land.

Still inside the cloud, The Gecko was avidly checking his surroundings, staring left and right in search for either of the two kids. The earthbender with the green mask was standing on all fours just like the creature he was nicknamed after. A pebble thrown to his face made him turn his head around, spotting The Blind Bandit in the process. Without thinking twice about it, The Gecko jumped in his place while simultaneously throwing two balls of solid earth at her.

Toph effortlessly caught the projectiles and tossed them away. Before The Gecko could return to the ground after his jump, Toph stomped her heel and a column of earth rose from the ring, hitting The Gecko right in the stomach and leaving him hanging from the tip of the column. Then, after swinging her arm in a circular motion, Toph performed an uppercut that broke the earth column in two, sending the upper half along with The Gecko high into the air. Amusingly enough, the fake Fire Nation guy was just starting to wake up after being knocked unconscious, only to get knocked out again when his fellow earthbender landed on top of him.

As for Shujinko, he was dealing with The Gopher, an earthbender with a particular fighting style. Unlike the rest of the earthbenders, The Gopher went for a more indirect approach by burrowing underground and popping out of the surface to attack people from their blind spot. Not a bad tactic, but unfortunately for The Gopher, it was utterly useless against Shujinko. Not only was the Chunin able to tell exactly where The Gopher was thanks to the Karura Tensei, but his shinobi reflexes also surpassed those of any bender, with or without Sage Mode. None of the rocks The Gopher was throwing at him would ever touch Shujinko.

The earthbender realized this, and so he went underground once again. But instead of coming out to throw another rock, he decided he would catch the ninja by surprise and pop out immediately behind him. That way, he would be able to restrain him in a matter of seconds. The Gopher moved around the underground a bit before emerging with his arms wide open, ready to make an earth statue out of Shujinko… except that Shujinko was nowhere to be seen.

After looking both left and right, The Gopher lifted his gaze just in time to see Shujinko descending from above.

BAAM

Aided by gravity, Shujinko punished The Gopher by driving his fist into his face as soon as he landed on the ground. The Ozuma had felt his enemy's position below the ground at all times and it didn't take him much to predict his next attack. He punched The Gopher so hard it nearly made the earthbender sunk back into his hole, but it certainly had been enough to leave him out for the count.

"Gotcha!" Sokka exclaimed as he was finally able to pull the lever, lowering Aang's cage until it reached the ground.

"Good work, Sokka!" Aang thanked him as Katara immediately jumped into the ring to free the Avatar out of his confinement.

Sokka sat on the ground and rested his back against the wall, his tongue sticking out as he panted. "Sis… I'm leaving the rest to you…" Sokka managed to say, feeling like his arms were on fire after pulling that damn thing.

Katara bent a blob of water out of her pouch and used it to freeze the padlock both inside and out, making it brittle and rusty. She then summoned all of her strength and started to remove the frozen water out of the cage, including the padlock inside. The frozen water started to crack, and after a short while, it was shattered open, breaking the padlock in the process.

Katara opened the door and Aang jumped out of the cage, assuming a traditional Airbending stance as he landed. However, the waterbender placed a hand on the Avatar's shoulder and shook her head, indicating Aang there was no need for him to intervene in the fight. The cloud of dust Toph had raised finally faded away, and with the exception of Xin Fu, the only opponents who were still standing were The Boulder and The Hippo.

Keyword here being standing, because Headhunter, another earthbender who had assisted in capturing Toph, was swinging on a rope at great speed, intending to take them out from behind. Shujinko turned around and started running towards the Headhunter's direction, and once he was close enough, he jumped and used a kunai to cut the rope, causing the earthbender to fall out of control. The Headhunter was about to crash into Toph, but she merely waved her arm and made a closed fist, raising a wall for The Headhunter to crash face-first into instead.

"That is enough!" The Boulder shouted in ager. "The Boulder will not be humiliated by children!" The Hippo supported his fellow earthbender by letting out a roar and pounding his chest.

"You deal with The Boulder, Toph. I'll take care of that giant cow," Shujinko said as he placed his kunai back inside its holster.

"Cow?" Toph repeated. "Don't you mean Hippo Cow?"

"… Yeah, sure, that's what I meant," Shujinko replied as a thick drop of sweat rolled down his cheek. Honestly, were there any normal creatures in this weird place?

Before the Ozuma could dwell any further about the lack of ordinary animals in this part of the world, The Hippo charged at him, wielding in his hands a heavy object roughly shaped as a coin. Despite being slow and clumsy, The Hippo was swinging that thing in a way that would seriously injure Shujinko if he got struck by it. The golden-eyed teen got behind The Hippo and began punching him in the back with all his strength, but his attacks barely seemed to have an effect as The Hippo turned around and continued the fight as if nothing had happened.

'I can't take this guy down using regular Taijutsu, that's for certain,' Shujinko thought after jumping away from his adversary. 'His body is too dense to feel my attacks. In that case, I'll have to use other methods,'

The Hippo charged again, swinging the large object around and growling like a deranged baboon. During one instance, he raised his weapon above his head and Shujinko took the opportunity to dive between The Hippo's legs before he could crush him. Then, he jumped onto The Hippo's back and began to pull his ears as hard as he could from behind. This caused the massive earthbender to shout in pain, walking aimlessly as he tried to get Shujinko off of his back.

Once the two of them were close to the edge of the ring, Shujinko leaned over and slapped The Hippo's ears both at the same time. The Hippo let out a howl and dropped his weapon, unable to handle the pain his eardrums were experiencing. Now that his enemy was stunned, the Chunin ran towards him and jumped, making sure his feet landed together on the back of The Hippo's neck. The brute was so disoriented that Shujinko's weight was enough to trip him over, and so The Hippo stumbled his way out of the ring with his ears still ringing.

As for The Boulder, he was left groveling miserably on the ground after trying to get his revenge on Toph after their last encounter together. The Boulder had raised a giant rock over his head, but before he could throw it, Toph shot a much smaller rock at one of his knee caps with almost lethal precision, hitting the bone inside and forcing The Boulder to stand on one knee. Once his stance had been wrecked, The Boulder started to lose control, and Toph finished him off by squashing him with the same rock above his head.

Xin Fu couldn't believe what he had just seen. In only a few minutes, two kids had managed to defeat six seasoned earthbenders, and he was next in line.

Shujinko deactivated his Kekkei Genkai. All that fighting and moving around had provided enough cover for the changes in his face, but now that Xin Fu was the only clown that was left, Shujinko ran the risk of being seen in Sage Mode state by his friends, and he would rather have that conversation when the time was right, not straight after dealing with kidnappers.

The Chunin and the blind girl stood next to each other as they got ready to fight Xin Fu, who had a chill running down his spine for the first time in many years. Out of the corner in his eye, he spotted Toph's father sitting next to Master Yu. The guy was biting his nails in panic, terrified of the thought of her daughter getting hurt. Had he not seen the fight up until this point? What would it take him to realize his daughter, despite being blind, was an excellent earthbender?

Shujinko thought about it for a while, and he decided it was time for Lao to open his eyes and see who Toph really was. "Hey Toph, I think my wrist is jammed. Take care of this guy for me, will you?" Shujinko asked as he began to walk away, heading towards Aang, Sokka, and Katara.

His request caused Toph to widen her eyes. Her seismic sense had picked up Shujinko's lie almost immediately, so why was Shujinko lying when there was nothing wrong with him? He didn't seem to be tired after drilling through all those earthbenders, and he certainly had the skills to take care of Xin Fu by himself.

Then, it all became clear to Toph, and she had to press her lips in order to suppress the growing grin on her face, transforming it into a smirk. "About time you asked," Toph replied cockily, but with a tone of voice that expressed gratitude. Shujinko was giving her the chance to show her father what she was capable of by letting her fight her own battles, and that simple gesture meant more to Toph than anything else in the world right now. "Let's get it on, then. It's payback time,"

Xin Fu forced himself to calm down. With that other boy throwing in the towel, half the danger was gone, but going up against none other than The Blind Bandit was still a hard challenge. He already had the money in his power and the logical thing to do would be to escape while he could. However, Xin Fu was, first and foremost, a man of pride and ego, and he would never forgive himself if he ran away from a fight against a child, no matter what the circumstances were.

"You insolent girl, I will teach you what happens to those who mess with Xin Fu!" Xin Fu shouted as he began his attack, raising chunks of rocks from the ground and kicking them at Toph. The Blind Bandit replied by raising a wall of earth that withstood the pounding, and as soon as the last rock had been blocked, Toph split the wall in two and sent one half at Xin Fu.

The muscular earthbender dived to the right and buried part of his hand into the ground, throwing a heavy rock directed at his opponent's face. Lao Beifong lost what little sense of control he had left and stood up to shout, but before his voice left his mouth, Toph performed a full spin at the last second, allowing the projectile to crash into the wall instead of into her head. Then, she punched the other half of the wall and threw it at Xin Fu, who had no time to move out of the way after his attack. The man was struck so hard his body bounced twice before getting thrown out of the ring, unconscious and thoroughly beaten.

"I don't believe my own eyes," Master Yu said in awe while the teens gathered around Toph to congratulate her on her victory. "Your daughter is amazing, Mr. Beifong. She's easily the most talented earthbender I've ever seen in my life,"

Lao Beifong merely stared at his daughter like she was a stranger, a stranger who had been living under his roof all of her life. He felt a deep sense of sadness as he watched Toph getting praised by the Avatar and his friends, because after what had just taken place, there was no doubt that those four kids knew Toph better than the girl's very own father did.

* * *

|Beifong residence|

"Mom, Dad, I'm sorry for hiding the truth about me for so long," Toph began to say as she stood in front of her parents, speaking to them with more honesty than she had ever done so before. Shujinko and the others were there as well, hoping that their presence would encourage her. "I know it's probably hard for you to see me like this, but the truth is, this is who I've always been. I can't keep pretending to be someone I'm not,"

"… To think that our daughter would deceive us like this," Lao said with a heavy voice. "All of this time, we were trying to protect you, and yet you still made a fool out of me and your mother,"

"I know that, and I know you were just trying to protect me. But Dad, you weren't just doing that. I may have kept my life secret from you, but you were keeping me secret from the whole world as if I didn't exist. You're my parents and you mean a lot to me, but I can't live my life the way you'd like me to, and I'm tired of all the lies. Being an earthbender is the best that has happened to me. I love Earthbending, and I'm really, really good at it. It may not be important to you, but it is important to me, more than you can imagine,"

It was hard not to feel sorry for Toph. Despite being born into utmost wealth and privilege, she had been denied the opportunity to be normal by the very same people who cared for her the most. Shujinko understood that Toph's parents wanted nothing but the best for her, or at least what they thought was best for her, but by doing so they failed to realize something that everyone, especially ninjas such as himself, needed to know about life. The world was a place full of danger, and no amount of denial would ever change that inescapable fact.

Back in his village, everyone knew that. Ninjas were raised not only to recognize danger, but also to expect it even during the calmest of times and in the most serene of places. The moment a shinobi felt completely safe was the moment a shinobi left itself wide open for the rest of the world to strike, and sometimes, one strike was all it took for the mightiest of men to fall, never to get back up again. It was as exaggerated as it was truthful, which was why Shujinko profoundly disagreed with the way Lao and Poppy treated their daughter. If parents refused to teach their children about the dangers the real world had to offer, how were those children supposed to recognize them?

"That's why I want to go outside and start something new. I'm twelve-years-old and I've never had a single friend or people who understand me. I need to do this… And now that you know who your daughter really is, I hope it doesn't change the way you two feel about me,"

"Of course it doesn't change the way we feel about you, sweetie," Poppy said.

Lao nodded his head. "Indeed. If anything, this has made me realize something, something very important,"

"It has?" Toph asked in surprise. She hadn't expected her parents to understand her point of view so quickly. It made Toph think that maybe this whole thing could've been avoided if she had just been honest to them from the beginning, and that perhaps her parents were more comprehensive than what she gave them credit for. "And what is it?"

"… That I've been far too permissive with you. From now on, you will be cared for and guarded twenty-four hours a day with no exception. I'm sorry Toph, but you've left me no other choice,"

Unlike the Avatar and the Water Tribe siblings, who had looks of surprise and disappointment on their faces, Shujinko didn't bother to conceal or dissimulate his glare. Were Toph's parents really this obsessed with her? Weren't they seeing the kind of harm they were inflicting on her? Not wanting your only daughter to join the Avatar and leave the house for months was something the Chunin could understand, but what Lao and Poppy Beifong wanted for Toph was simply absurd. They were making her a prisoner in her own home.

"W-What? But Dad, I-"

"No buts, sweetie. We are doing this for your own good,"

Lao stood up and frowned at Aang. "Please escort the Avatar and his friends out. They are no longer welcome here after all the problems they have caused,"

A couple of guards approached Shujinko and his group of friends, gesturing them to start walking. However, the Ozuma refused to leave the room without giving Lao and Poppy a piece of his mind. "You know what? I used to think that you two were like this because you genuinely cared for Toph and how she felt, but now I can see how mistaken I was. You don't care about the way Toph feels, you just want to control her life even if it makes her miserable,"

Poppy Beifong gasped in shock and placed a hand over her mouth. As for Lao, he tightened his fists and gave Shujinko a scandalized look. "Such insolence! You dare put our feelings towards Toph into question?" he demanded to know.

"I'm not putting anything into question except for your parenting job. I may not know much about the subject, but I do know that children are supposed to trust their parents, and seeing how Toph never told you what she really did and who she really was before, I can tell she doesn't trust either of you. You should be ashamed of yourselves,"

"Enough! I will not hear any more of this! Guards, escort them at once!"

One of the guards grabbed Shujinko's shoulder so that the Chunin would start moving, but Shujinko slapped his hand away and walked out of the room on his own. The attitude displayed by Toph's parents had left a bad taste in his mouth, and he felt pity for their daughter for having to deal with them. Even if their intentions were good, the way Lao and Poppy went about it was so wrong and misguided that they were actively hurting Toph, restricting her movements and taking away the already minuscule amount of freedom she had left.

However, and as much as it bothered Shujinko, they had no other option but to leave the Beifong family alone and start looking for another Earthbending teacher somewhere else. Toph's parents had run out of patience and would never agree to let their daughter travel around the world, especially now that Shujinko had offended them by telling them the truth.

As they walked out of the room, Aang looked over his shoulder and glanced at Toph one last time. "I'm sorry, Toph. I wish things were different," he said, anguish written all over his face. It hurt to know that she wouldn't be joining them, not only because he wouldn't have the opportunity to learn Earthbending from the best, but also because Toph would be forced to stay put in a place where she wasn't happy.

"I'm sorry too. Goodbye, Aang," Toph replied, her voice cracking. She was angry, but most of all, she was sad. The opportunity she'd been waiting for all her life was walking out of the room and she was powerless to do anything about it. Instead of exploring the world with a group of people who accepted her for who she really was, she was going to be stuck with her parents, parents that claimed to love her despite refusing to understand her, and whose obsession with her safety did nothing but make Toph feel suffocated.

A lonely tear dribbled down her cheek.

000

|Outside the Beifong residence|

As Shujinko and Sokka were saddling Appa and getting their bags ready, they kept stealing glances at Aang, who was staring silently at the Beifong residence all the way from the top of a cliff, a melancholic expression on his face.

The fact that Toph wouldn't be joining them had left the Avatar feeling both dejected and confused. It was true that he hadn't gotten to know Toph all that much during the little time they spent together, but even so, he couldn't help but feel an odd sense of belonging between her and them. She would've been a great addition to the group, not just because of her Earthbending abilities, but also because the five of them would make a great team of friends together. The personalities of Katara, Sokka, Shujinko, and his own were all different from one another, yet there was still chemistry between all of them, and he was sure Toph wouldn't have been an exception.

The reason he was confused was because he couldn't understand what his vision from the swamp meant anymore. If Toph wasn't supposed to be his Earthbending teacher, then who was it? If Shujinko, who had also been part of his vision, had ended up becoming part of the gang, why not Toph as well? Bumi's advice about finding a teacher who waited and listened, the vision he experienced in the swamp, his meeting with Toph, it all added up… except that in the end, it didn't, and Aang simply couldn't figure out why.

"Don't worry Aang, we'll find you another teacher," Katara tried to cheer him up. "There are plenty of talented earthbenders here in the Earth Kingdom,"

"Not like her, there isn't," was Aang's reply. Katara could only grimace, knowing that it would take some time for Aang to get over it.

"Hey guys, Appa's ready. We should get going now," Shujinko said out loud. He was well aware of Aang's sad mood and he was sorry for him, but their time in Gaoling was over and staying here wouldn't do them any good. Not being able to have Toph with them was a disappointment for sure, and Shujinko never got the chance to know her better, but they had to move on as quickly as possible if they were to find Aang another teacher.

Aang let out a heavy sigh and finally turned around. He seriously doubted he would ever find another earthbender such as Toph. With sunken shoulders, the Avatar walked to where Appa was and sat on top of the Flying Bison's head, grabbing the reins. He was waiting for Katara to get on the saddle when Shujinko, for some reason, stood up and jumped down from Appa. "Shujinko, what's wrong?"

"Someone's coming," Shujinko replied with a frown, opening his back pouch and grabbing a couple of shurikens in each hand. His eyes had caught sight of slight movement near the bushes below, and the sound of footsteps and heavy breathing was increasing, to which the Ozuma tensed his muscles and got ready to throw his weapons. "Who's there? Show yourself,"

Much to their surprise, Toph appeared out of the bushes, running as fast as her legs would allow her. She was wearing the same green and yellow outfit that she wore the night when they first met her, and she was carrying a small bag with the few possessions that were important to the blind girl. Shujinko lowered his shurikens and placed them back inside his pouch before staring at Toph with wide eyes.

"Toph, is that you?"

"The one and only," Toph replied cheekily despite being out of breath.

"But what are you doing here, Toph?" Aang asked in bewilderment. "Didn't your parents say that-"

"I managed to change their minds before it was too late," the earthbender cut him off. "They finally understood that I have to follow my own path, and they allowed me to travel with you guys,"

Shujinko furrowed his brow once again. After seeing what kind of parents Lao and Poppy were, the chances of them suddenly being fine with Toph leaving her home were less than none. It was painfully evident that Toph had escaped against her parents' wishes, but there was no reason to call her out on it. After all, she wanted to join them on her own free will and they needed her to teach Aang Earthbending, so it didn't really matter whether she was lying or not.

"In that case, we better get out of here before your parents regret changing their opinion," Sokka said.

"You're probably right, but before we go, there's something I need to do," Toph then took a couple of steps forward and extended her hand to Shujinko. "I never got to congratulate you for beating me at the tournament. It was a good fight,"

The golden-eyed boy raised an eyebrow, a little surprised by her sudden maturity. He hadn't seen this side of Toph before. In any case, he wasn't about to reject the earthbender's goodwill gesture and went to shake her hand. "That it was. You nearly got me against the rop-"

BAAM

Before the two of them could shake hands, and with no warning whatsoever, Toph stomped her foot on the ground and Shujinko was sent flying several feet away, crashing into Appa and his soft fur. The Chunin fell to his knees before the astonished gaze of those who were present. "What the heck was that for?" Shujinko demanded to know once he got up, only for Toph to smirk at him.

"That was payback for what you did to me the other night. I still have no idea what kind of trick you pulled on me, but I know it wasn't legal. Anyways, now that we're even, how about we hit the road already? Tomorrow is Aang's first Earthbending lesson and we're gonna start early in the morning, so you better be prepared Twinkle Toes,"

Aang's face would split in half if his grin got any wider. "I'm so glad you got to join us. You're gonna be an amazing teacher, I know you will,"

"Of course I will. I'm the greatest earthbender in the world, remember? And Shujinko, if you're done rubbing your knees like an old man, I suggest that you climb up on Appa so that we can finally leave this place once and for all,"

And so, a new member was added to the group. The Blind Bandit, Toph Beifong, was now part of Team Avatar.

* * *

Aaaaand that was chapter 8. Hope you all liked it.

As you might have noticed, I added a few things that weren't seen or explained in the episode. For example, how did Xin Fu know Toph was The Blind Bandit? In the show, he simply goes and captures Toph despite the fact that no one in Gaoling was aware that the Beifong family had a daughter. I wanted to come up with an explanation for that, and I think the explanation I included in this chapter at least makes some sense.

I'd love to hear your thoughts regarding the fight scene. I want to make it clear that Shujinko could've taken care of all the fighters on his own, but he has to exercise restraint in order to keep most of his abilities secret. Don't forget that shinobis are soldiers trained to kill their enemies, and while Shujinko is indeed a shinobi, he's not going to try and kill anyone unless he has no choice.

Also, the Karura Tensei has finally appeared in this story. For those of you that don't know what it is, it's Shujinko's Kekkei Genkai, which allows him to enter Hawk Sage Mode in a matter of seconds. Before you start calling Shujinko OP for being able to enter Sage Mode just like that, please read his original story so that you become aware of its limitations and what Shujinko can do with it.

Speaking of which, I made it so that Shujinko can feel chi while he's in Sage Mode. I know chakra and chi are technically two different energies, but they're still kind of similar if you ask me. Shujinko is able to feel chi as foreign energy, but he doesn't understand it the way he understands chakra. I'll go into further detail about this in the next chapters.

Don't forget to Review, Favorite & Follow

Peace!


	9. Chapter 9

**CHAPTER 9: SHARING IS CARING**

* * *

(Disclaimer: Avatar The Last Airbender belongs to Nickelodeon and Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. I only own my OC's)

(PLEASE READ: THIS IS NOT A SEQUEL TO "SHUJINKO: THE FOURTH MEMBER", BUT A DIFFERENT STORY WITH SHUJINKO AS THE MAIN CHARACTER. THIS STORY WILL NOT HAVE ANY EFFECT WHATSOEVER IN "SHUJINKO SHIPPUDEN". I REPEAT, THIS IS NOT A SEQUEL TO SHUJINKO'S ORIGINAL STORY)

Summary: One night, a stranger breaks into Shujinko's house and tries to steal one of the most mystical objects in the history of the Ozuma clan: The Eye of Kazemaru. When Shujinko tries to stop him, the two of them activate an ancient and forgotten power of the gem by accident, which sends them to another dimension where a certain bald-headed monk has to master the four elements in order to defeat the evil Fire Lord. What kind of impact will Shujinko's presence have in the Avatar universe? Who is this stranger and what does he want? Get ready for one wild space-time adventure.

* * *

"_Attacking your enemy head-on? You're certainly bold for your age, so much that it makes me wonder how you have survived in this cursed world of ours for so long. Oh well, it hardly matters now, doesn't it? It's only natural that those who seek an early grave find it sooner rather than later,"_

…

"_Unhand me, you insolent brat! You cannot stop me from fulfilling my destiny!"_

…

* * *

Shujinko jerked his head to the side, shifting his body uncomfortably. He opened his eyes and blinked repeatedly until his eyesight became clear. The same could not be said about his mind, however, as he found himself waking up after experiencing a weird dream, the second one he had had ever since the beginning of his travels with the Avatar and the Water Tribe siblings.

'It happened again. That was the same voice from before,' Shujinko thought as a worried frown appeared on his face. He leaned forward and stared at the blankets covering his body. They were ruffled and disordered just like the thoughts inside his head were right now. 'Why do I keep hearing it? And why now?'

What annoyed Shujinko the most was that the dreams about the mysterious voice were sticking with him. They were short and ambiguous, and the voice only spoke a couple of sentences at the most. Shujinko couldn't even put a name or a face to the owner of the voice, for he could see nothing but complete darkness whenever those dreams happened. If these dreams were the product of his imagination just like every other, why was it that he couldn't get rid of them? Why did they feel like a hollow echo from the past?

'I must be overthinking this,' the Ozuma reassured himself. 'I'm a ninja, and I've participated in plenty of missions. I probably heard that voice before during an assignment and my sub-consciousness picked up on it or something. If I keep thinking about the voice all the time, it's only natural for it to become a common occurrence in my dreams. The voice will fade away eventually as long as I stop thinking about it,'

It was either that or he would have to find a shrine dedicated to a Baku and present a generous offering.

"Today's the day!" The excited voice of Aang stopped Shujinko's train of thought. In was early in the morning, too early to start yelling, and yet Aang was bouncing all over the place like a kid high on sugar. "Guys, can you believe it? I'm finally going to learn Earthbending from a master!" Aang then noticed he wasn't the only one awake as he saw Shujinko standing on Appa, yawning and stretching his back. "Hey Shujinko, you're up as well! We sure picked a good spot to spend the night, don't you think?"

"Mornin', Aang," Shujinko replied lazily before getting off the Sky Bison. Unlike the airbender, Shujinko wasn't feeling all that thrilled. Hearing that voice again had left a weird taste in his mouth and he needed to clear his head. Not wanting to seem rude, Shujinko cleared his throat and met Aang's gaze. "And yeah, this place suits us nicely. Are you ready to start your Earthbending training?"

Aang grinned widely. "You bet I am! I was awake all night waiting for the sun to rise," he replied before noticing the look on Shujinko's face, as if he was bothered by something. "Are you okay? You look a bit strange, Shujinko,"

The corner of Shujinko's mouth twitched involuntarily. He didn't feel comfortable with sharing his worries about the voice in his dream, mostly because he himself didn't know what to make of it. Besides, he didn't want to spoil Aang's happy mood with his concerns, so he merely shrugged his shoulders and pretended everything was okay. "It's nothing, I'm just a little tired. Is Toph still sleeping?"

BAAAAM

The sound of earth trembling gave him his answer. The walls of the small shelter Toph had built for herself last night were suddenly thrown away, with Toph standing in the middle of it. The blind earthbender swayed her neck left and right, making popping sounds. She then looked at their general direction with an easy smile, as if this was her usual way of waking up every day. "Good morning, everyone. Who's ready to learn some Earthbending?"

"Me! Me! I'm ready to learn!" Aang exclaimed, his hand going up. It reminded Shujinko of how Naruto would act whenever he was asked if he wanted to learn a cool jutsu, and the fact that Aang was wearing robes of orange color only strengthened the resemblance between the Avatar and the blonde Jinchuriki.

"Hey, keep it quiet, will you? Some of us are trying to get some sleep here," Sokka said in annoyance after being woken up by all the noise the pair of benders were making. Katara was also awake by now, frantically rubbing her eyes after having her rightful rest interrupted. "I don't care if you two throw rocks at each other or whatever, just don't give me a morning headache, please. I've been having plenty of those since we left the South Pole,"

"Oh, I'm so sorry. We didn't mean to disturb you, but I promise we'll try to practice our Earthbending as quietly as possible," Toph said with an overly-innocent tone of voice… right before she buried her heel into the ground. All of a sudden, Sokka found himself screaming in panic after being launched into the sky by an earth column, courtesy of The Blind Bandit. "There, was that quiet enough for you?"

After falling face-first to the ground, the young warrior of the Southern Water Tribe stood up (still in his sleeping bag) and tried to berate Toph, but he was so outraged that he couldn't even articulate words properly. Hopping like a bunny rabbit, Sokka left the group and went to blow some steam somewhere else, still muttering gibberish along the way.

"… So anyways, what are you going to teach me first, Toph?" Aang asked eagerly. "The Rockalanche? The Trembler? How about the-"

Toph immediately extended her open palm in front of Aang's face, stopping his rambling. "Sorry Twinkletoes, but those moves are far too difficult for someone who can't even move a rock yet. First, we have to work on your stance, then maybe we can move on to the fun stuff. Oh, and don't think that I'm going to go easy on you. If you're gonna' learn Earthbending, you're gonna' learn it my way. Are we clear on that?"

"Yes, sifu-Toph," Aang replied obediently, performing a short bow.

This raised Katara's eyebrow. "Hey, you never called me sifu-Katara,"

"Well, if you think that I should…"

"Okay, I think we've wasted enough time already," Toph interrupted. Shujinko, who was silently watching the scene unfold, found it a bit amusing how outspoken and direct Toph was despite being the youngest of the group. He just hoped that attitude of hers wouldn't cause them any trouble down the road. "Follow me, Twinkletoes. This rock quarry we're in is the perfect place to begin your training. I'm sure we'll find a good spot in no time,"

Having said those words, teacher and student went on their way. As she watched the two of them walking away, Katara couldn't help but press the corner of her mouth, feeling a tiny hint of concern. She feared Toph's methods of teaching might not be the best-suited for Aang considering how different their personalities were. Surely Toph wouldn't mind if she tagged along just to make sure everything went smoothly for Aang, right? It wasn't like she was going to interrupt her lessons or anything like that… hopefully.

Katara then turned her head to see Shujinko, who for some reason was carrying his backpack. "Are you going somewhere, Shujinko?"

"I'm gonna' head out and explore the terrain. It might take me a couple of hours, so don't worry if I don't turn up for a while," Shujinko responded, and before Katara had the chance to ask him anything else, the Chunin pumped chakra to his feet and jumped out of her sight. The waterbender got out of her sleeping bag and took a couple of steps forward, raising her gaze in the direction she believed Shujinko had gone to, but all she could see was the sunlight glaring right back at her.

'I hate it when he does that,'

* * *

After hours of thorough exploration, Shujinko decided to take a break and watch the sunset, sitting on top of a rock where he could observe an inspiring landscape of faraway mountains and rivers in the distance. He hadn't realized how fast time had gone by ever since he had left the camping spot, probably because of all the thoughts that were going around inside his head.

The dreams he was experiencing, the voice he was hearing, being so far away from his village without knowing how or why… Shujinko didn't enjoy getting distracted, mainly because a shinobi could never afford to lose focus, but at the end of the day, he was still a human being who was lost in the most unexpected and bewildering of circumstances, the likes of which he never would've anticipated.

Shujinko opened his backpack and searched for one of the few belongings he still had with him. It was a small book with a leather cover and a pencil compartment. The book served him as a diary of sorts, a journal where he kept private thoughts, descriptions, photographs and even a few of his own drawings. Shujinko never wrote down sensitive information about the village or himself in case the diary fell on the wrong hands and he always made sure to use a degree of ambiguity whenever he transformed his thoughts into written words. That way, even if an enemy shinobi got a hold of his book for whatever reason, no real harm would come out of it.

The diary was a gift from his sister Nanami, and although he hadn't planned on using it very often at first, Shujinko soon found out that keeping a diary was actually beneficial for him. It was almost like having a real-life confidant with him at all times, one whom Shujinko could express his thoughts to without the fear of being criticized or judged. Sometimes he would write about whatever personal issues he was dealing with and other times he would simply write down an amusing thought that had crossed his mind. As for the pictures that were in there, they were mostly photographs and drawings of animals, objects, sceneries, individuals, and popular places of the Hidden Leaf Village.

'I haven't touched this thing for a while now,' Shujinko thought. He could hardly blame himself given how confusing and surreal his situation was, not to mention most of the time he was too busy figuring out what was going on and what was he supposed to do. He shrugged his shoulders and grabbed a pencil out of the compartment. 'I guess this is as good as a time as any,'

_April 20-27?_

_This is officially the weirdest thing that has ever happened to me. _

_One of the shinobi rules is to expect the unexpected as much as the expected, if not more. I've always tried my best to keep that rule in mind, but this time, I believe not even Lady Tsunade (or any of the previous Hokages for that matter) would blame me for not anticipating the kind of mess I'm currently in._

_I still don't know when, how, and why this has happened. Maybe I do know but just can't remember for some reason. Either way, it doesn't make much of a difference right now. What I do know is that I am far away. Far away from my room, far away from my house, far away from my village, far away from the Land of Fire, and as unbelievable as it is, far away from the Five Great Shinobi Nations._

_I am in a different part of the world… Lost and at a loss…_

…

… _After making my way out of that forest, I soon came across a place that resembled a civilian town, a rural settlement to be more precise. I wandered around for a bit before encountering three teens about my age. Two of them were siblings and they bore a strong physical resemblance to each other while the third one was a boy, a young monk of sorts by the looks of it. Their names are Sokka, Katara, and Aang, as I later found out that day. I asked them where we were and they said we were in Gi Yuin Village, a place I had never heard before. _

_I then asked them how to get to the Hidden Leaf Village, and their answer baffled me. None of them were aware of the existence of the Hidden Leaf Village, claiming they had never heard of it before. Not knowing what to make of it, I simply said goodbye and left them, feeling utterly dumbfounded._

_Little did I know, things were about to become much more confusing…_

…

… _Somehow, I ended up joining the group of teenagers I met at Gi Yuin Village. I did so out of necessity, but also because they looked like decent enough people. They filled me in on what was going on around these foreign lands and what their objective was. As it turns out, Aang is the Avatar, a unique individual who has the ability to bend all four elements, a power only he can wield. He's also involved in some weird spiritual reincarnation business that I can't fully grasp as of yet._

_Oh, and also there's a guy called Fire Lord Ozai who's after Aang. From what I understand, he's the leader of the Fire Nation, something like a Kage and a Feudal Lord combined. By joining Aang and the Water Tribe siblings, I've made myself a target, but it's too late to do anything about it. Something tells me this is how I would've ended up anyway, even if I had known about this war beforehand._

…

… _When we were bathing at the natural hot spring, they saw my scars and it somehow ended up with me opening up to them. If I'm being honest, meeting Aang, Katara, and Sokka was the best thing that has happened to me so far ever since I arrived here, but I didn't want to risk becoming too attached to them. That night, I realized becoming too attached to them was not the same as developing a genuine bond with them. Despite not knowing me all that much, they did their best to understand who I am and accepted me with open arms, promising to help me find my way home. From that moment onward, I've stopped behaving like someone I'm not and I can tell they appreciate it._

_Also, Aang revealed to me he had experienced a vision not too long ago. In said vision, he saw a young girl that was a stranger to him at the time, as well as metallic leaves floating around where he was. This revelation stemmed from Katara asking me about my headband, and when I explained to her what was my headband for and what it represented, it all started to make sense for Aang. The metallic leaves from his vision were a representation of me coming into his life, and it's hard to find another meaning to it or to look at it from a different perspective. _

_I still don't know how I arrived at this place or what my purpose here is. Do I even have a purpose or is my presence here purely circumstantial?_

…

… _Now that Toph has joined our group, Aang can finally begin his Earthbending training. We're currently camping at an abandoned rock quarry, and just like Aang, I should do some training myself and avoid slacking off, if only just to pass the time and keep my skills sharp. So far, I've yet to meet a bender or a non-bender that has forced me to use lethal force, but it's better to be safe than sorry. As far as I know, there might be other ninjas here in this continent other than me, and I must be ready in case we come across one of them._

_I'm not sure when I'll write here again, but I'm hoping it won't have to be soon. That's all for now, I guess._

After writing just about everything that had happened to him up to this point, Shujinko let out an amused snort, a smile tugging up the corner of his mouth. It wasn't like he thought his position was a fun one to be in, but it was just so random and unexpected that it was also comical to a degree… Or maybe he was just trying to find humor where there really wasn't any. It could be either way.

The sun was setting down. Making use of the remaining daylight, Shujinko began to draw a picture of the scenery in front of him on the next page of his diary. He had never been particularly talented at drawing, but after months of practice, his skills with the pencil had somewhat improved. In any case, he wanted to have something to remember this place by, and since he didn't have any camera equipment, his only option was to make a drawing and hope it would come out decent.

Shujinko was about to start adding the details of the scenery to his work of art when… "Whoever's hiding back there, you should know it's rude to spy on people,"

A muffled gasp came from behind a pile of boulders, and Shujinko couldn't help but smirk. When he looked over his shoulder, he saw Katara coming out of her hiding spot, a surprised look on her face. "How did you know I was here?"

"I heard your footsteps and your breathing is too loud. Sorry Katara, but you're gonna have to try harder if you want to sneak up on me," Shujinko replied. "Anyways, what's up? Is something the matter?"

"… Actually, that's what I wanted to ask you," Katara replied, to which Shujinko raised an eyebrow. "You were acting a little strange during the morning and you left in a hurry, so I was wondering if everything is okay with you. You didn't even leave one of those clones of yours back at camp like you normally do,"

The Ozuma blinked as he recognized Katara was right. He had been so distracted during the morning that he even forgot to create a shadow clone and order it to stand guard while he was gone, a mistake he hadn't realized up until now. Shujinko wanted to chastise himself for being so careless, but must of all, he was impressed by the way Katara had picked up on his unsettled mood. It looked like Katara was more perceptive than what he had given her credit for.

Nonetheless, he didn't want to bother Katara or make her worried, so Shujinko tried his best to put up a calm and neutral face, feigning normality. "Yeah, I guess I woke up a little distracted this morning. It's nothing to be worried about, though. I appreciate your concern, but there's nothing going on with me and I mean it,"

Katara's eyes narrowed slightly, and Shujinko could tell she wasn't buying it. Without saying a word, the waterbender approached Shujinko and took a seat next to him. When their gazes met, the brown-haired boy felt a strange sensation within himself, as if Katara was peering into his heart. "Shujinko, you don't need to be silent about what's troubling you. We may not know each other that well, but you're part of our group now, which means that your problems are also our problems. You can trust me,"

The corner of Shujinko's mouth twitched, and for a couple of seconds, he felt an invisible grip on his throat. Katara had unmasked him.

"… I guess… I guess I'm confused with myself, Katara," the Chunin said as he looked away from her, choosing to frown at his own boots instead.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I'm not sure how to describe it. It's like I can't be who I normally am. When I'm with you guys, I feel comfortable and more open towards all of you, as if you were people from my village. But then something happens that makes me remember my village and how I got to this part of the world is still a mystery to me. It becomes the only thing I think about and I can't get it out of my head. If I could only just…"

Shujinko forced himself to stop. He was allowing his emotions to take control over him, something no ninja could ever afford. Taking a deep breath, Shujinko placed his thoughts in order before opening his mouth again.

"I just wish there was something I could do to make my path clear. I know what I must do, but I have no idea how to do it or where to start. This place, this quest we're on, it's not letting me be who I am, and I've never felt this way before,"

That was the problem Shujinko had been struggling with ever since he woke up in that forest. For him, there was no such thing as a duality between being a person and being a shinobi. He didn't stop being a person when he was out on a mission, the same way he didn't stop being a shinobi when he was eating sushi at Masao's restaurant. No matter where he went or what he did, he would always be one individual with one identity: His own.

However, finding himself so far away from everyone and everything he knew was making the Ozuma experience doubts about who he was. He had absolute certainty that returning to the Hidden Leaf Village was both his will and his duty, but he didn't know how to go about it, especially since he had gotten himself involved in a war and had joined the Fire Nation's main target. One side of him felt wonder exploring such an incredible and foreign part of the world, learning about places, abilities, and living beings he had never heard or seen before, all of that in the company of great people.

Meanwhile, another side of him kept reminding him that he was a shinobi, that he had still yet to find a way home and that anything that didn't contribute to that was a waste of time. Perhaps the worst thing of it all was that no one around him could fully understand what he was going through. How could he expect them to when none of them had grown up like him or lived like him?

After a minute of deep silence, Katara finally raised her voice. "… I'm not going to pretend that I fully understand you, Shujinko. Maybe I never will. Still, I can't help but think that perhaps you got it all wrong. It's not this place that's not letting you be who you are. It's… Well, maybe it's just you,"

Shujinko gave her a side-glance. "Me? What do you mean by that?"

"I know the Hidden Leaf Village is your home, and I know how much you want to go there. I can only imagine how it must feel to be in your shoes right now. However, that shouldn't stop you from expressing your feelings and being yourself. Ninja or not, you're a good person. That's not going to change no matter how far away from home you are,"

A good person… Shujinko wasn't so sure Katara would think of him as a good person if she knew some of the things he had done. The life of a shinobi was one of constant danger, and Shujinko had already soiled his hands with the blood of enemies by the age of twelve. Whether it had been out of survival or self-defense, it didn't change the fact that Shujinko had killed people before, and although he didn't regret those deaths, they still weighed on his mind. It wasn't something he expected Katara to understand. If anything, the less she knew about it, the better off she was.

In spite of all that, Shujinko had to admit Katara was right about something. No matter where he was, there was no reason for Shujinko to not be true to himself. He was his own person with his own set of morals and values, and being honest and truthful to his comrades was certainly one of those values. Would he stop being a shinobi if he stopped hiding his feelings? Would it be wrong to drop the façade?

"… You know, I've never really been one to talk about my emotions all that much, not even before all of this happened," Shujinko confessed.

"Why not?" Katara asked. "There's nothing wrong with talking about the way you feel,"

"It's hard to explain, but ninjas like me are meant to have complete control over our emotions. We must never allow what we feel to get in the way of what must be done. If we did, we most likely wouldn't be able to perform our duties properly, and we'd risk failing our missions. I'm not saying we don't have any emotions, of course we do, but emotions often cloud our judgment, and a clouded judgment can lead to disaster. It's one of the first lessons a village teaches its ninjas, and we have to keep it in mind every time we face danger or adversity,"

The waterbender stared at Shujinko with a look of concern on her face. The more she knew about the kind of life Shujinko had, the more she pitied him, and the more she resented the Hidden Leaf Village. Preparing kids to become soldiers and forcing them to partake in dangerous missions was already bad enough, but indoctrinating them into detaching themselves from their emotions just so that they could perform their duty was simply awful and next to inhuman. It made Katara wonder how someone like Shujinko, who had been nothing but decent and helpful to them, could come from such a cruel place.

"I suppose this whole thing doesn't make much sense to you. I don't expect you to understand it, but at least now you know why I act this way sometimes,"

"Shujinko, can I ask you something?" Katara said, unable to resist herself. "Please don't take this the wrong way, but… but the Hidden Leaf Village sounds like a terrible place. They trained you since you were a kid to become a soldier, they took away your opportunity to have a peaceful life, and judging by your scars, you've been wounded more than once. But despite all that, you still want to go back to your village. I don't understand. Wouldn't you want to leave that place behind and live somewhere else? Why would you risk your life like that to protect a village that treats you like a tool?"

It wasn't until she spoke those words that Katara began to feel uneasy. For better or worse, she knew that the Hidden Leaf Village was very important to Shujinko, and she was afraid her question might've offended him. However, and to her surprise, she noticed the corner of Shujinko's mouth slowly lifting until a soft smile appeared on his face. "You know, there was a time when I asked myself that very same thing,"

"You did?" Katara asked.

"That's right. It was like a year ago or so. I was in the middle of something called the 'Chunin Exams', an event in which ninjas from all villages participate in order to obtain the Chunin rank, or in other words, to become middle-class shinobi. I remember being confused with myself, confused with almost everything I knew. What was the point of putting up with so much danger and sacrifices? Why did I have to endure all of that? What was so important about my village that I had to protect it with my life?"

The girl from the Southern Water Tribe was intrigued, to say the least. She was shocked to hear this coming from Shujinko. All of this time, she had been under the impression that Shujinko's commitment towards his village was due to near-blind loyalty, due to the fact that he simply didn't know any better. While she certainly didn't see him as a mindless simpleton, Katara hadn't really expected her golden-eyed companion to have thoughts of his own on this matter.

"In the end, I asked the Third Hokage, the leader of the Hidden Leaf Village at the time. He was old and wise, and he explained things in a way that eventually made sense for me. Basically, he taught me that the Hidden Leaf Village was more than just a bunch of houses and buildings surrounded by a wall. It's the people that live there that are the ones we have to protect. Spending your days in danger and anonymity just so that the civilian family next to you feels safe is a life worth living. That's the reason the Hidden Leaf Village was founded, so that normal people could live somewhere in peace, and us ninjas will provide that peace no matter what it takes,"

After saying those words, a gentle breeze went by, caressing Shujinko's hair as his side bangs weaved timidly. He wasn't sure why, but being able to explain his feelings towards his village to Katara made him feel at ease, almost happy. Deep down, he wanted Katara to know why the Hidden Leaf Village was so important to him. Shujinko didn't expect her to see things the way he did, but at least now she knew what his home meant to him, and thus, she now knew a part of who Shujinko truly was, both as a shinobi and as a person.

"If nothing else, all of my friends and my family live in the Hidden Leaf Village. I'd say that's a good enough of a reason for me to return,"

"You have a family?" Katara asked as her eyes widened in surprise. Up to this point, the thought of Shujinko having a family had never occurred to her, mostly because she'd been too distracted by the Chunin's peculiar background and his absurd abilities.

In response, Shujinko opened his diary and flipped through the pages until he found what he was looking for. It was a photograph of him standing outside of the Academy along with the rest of the Ozuma clan, which consisted of his father, his mother, and his younger sister. Shujinko had used adhesive tape to attach the corners of the photograph to the page. He handed the diary to Katara so she could take a proper look. "This picture was taken the day I graduated from the Academy and became a ninja. As you can see, my family isn't exactly numerous, but we're a tight unit,"

The first thing Katara noticed when she took the diary in her hands was just how _unbelievably_ realistic and detailed the picture was. She'd been expecting to see something among the lines of an elaborated drawing or perhaps a printed illustration made of ink, but what she got was a solid, fully colorized image of Shujinko and his three other family members. It was unlike anything Katara had ever seen before. She doubted the Fire Nation, even with all of its technological advances, was capable of producing a picture of this quality.

Once she got over her initial shock, Katara focused on the people shown in the photograph. A slightly younger version of Shujinko was smiling at the camera with two adults standing beside him, each of them placing a hand on their son's shoulders. The woman had a warm and tender smile, and she seemed to be elated by the occasion. Her husband had adopted a more sober expression for the picture, but Katara could still see the pride in his eyes. Next to Shujinko was a small girl grinning from ear to ear, giving off a tomboyish vibe that made the waterbender smile.

When she gave Shujinko his diary back, Katara was met with a pair of sunken eyes. "Not a day goes by without me missing them. I just want them to know that I'm alive, that I'm doing the best I can to find my way back home,"

Almost instinctively, Katara grabbed Shujinko's hand and gave it a tight squeeze. "You will find your home. We'll see to that. In the meantime, just try and make the best of things while you're still here with us. You can always count on me if you ever need to talk,"

Shujinko was slightly taken aback by the gesture, but he soon returned the squeeze and smiled at the waterbender. "Thank you, Katara. Even with all the craziness that's been going on, I'm happy that I got to know you… To know all of you, I mean," Katara smiled back and, for a brief moment, she allowed herself to gaze at Shujinko's golden, penetrating eyes. Yellow eyes were a genetic trait that was pretty much unique to the people of the Fire Nation, and after dealing with the Fire Nation and its soldiers for so long, Katara's sub-consciousness ended up associating yellow eyes with danger and violence.

However, it felt different this time. Katara wasn't threatened in the slightest by Shujinko's eyes. If anything, they made her feel secure and protected, but most of all, they made her see the core of Shujinko's being: No matter how much violence Shujinko had seen or experienced, those eyes belonged to a good person, one who knew of kindness and loyalty. She no longer saw him as just a warrior or a traveling companion. No, Shujinko was more than that. He was a friend… He was her friend.

"… Huummh, maybe we should get going, Katara. It's getting kinda' dark out here, don't you think?" It was only after he spoke that Katara noticed the somewhat awkward expression on Shujinko's face. His cheeks had acquired a tiny shade of red, and when the waterbender looked down, she finally realized she'd been squeezing Shujinko's hand for longer than what would be deemed appropriate, to the point where the Chunin was starting to look uncomfortable.

Katara immediately jumped off the rock and let go of his hand, as if she was touching a red-hot iron bar. "R-Right! I was just about to suggest that!" she blurted out, turning around so that Shujinko wouldn't see the growing blush on her face. "Come on, let's head back to the camp. We don't want the others to get worried," Without waiting for Shujinko to stand up, Katara began to walk away at a hurried pace,

The Ozuma closed his diary and put it inside his backpack before jumping off the rock he was sitting on. He was thrown off by Katara's odd behavior during the last bit of their conversation, especially with the way she looked at him at the end. She hadn't annoyed him or anything like that, it just made him feel confused. 'I guess Katara is more affectionate towards people than I thought,' he supposed.

In any case, Shujinko was glad he had spent time with her. He was left feeling better after opening up to Katara and listening to her advice. It was hard to describe, but Katara had this maternal instinct that could seemingly see through his shinobi mask. She was perceptive, caring, and wise in her own way. At the same time, she was obstinate and didn't look like the kind of person that would take a 'no' for an answer. In other words, she reminded Shujinko of his mother Masumi, which could be part of the reason why he felt at ease talking to her about his internal conflict and the incertitude he was experiencing.

Shujinko would always refuse to see himself as a misunderstood victim, but at the same time, he believed there were some aspects of his live that only another fellow ninja could comprehend and relate to. However, after this interaction with the waterbender, the golden-eyed teen was beginning to question this belief of his. Was it really necessary to understand people if you wanted to help them? Was he a fool for believing himself to be so much more different from Katara or any of the Hidden Leaf villagers for that matte just because he was a ninja and they were not?

The Ozuma was aware he couldn't forget about his problems or make them disappear, but perhaps now he could cope with them in a healthy way instead of keeping everything bottled up inside of him… He just had to stay true to himself.

* * *

|Several days later|

"Yeah, whatever, go splash some water if that makes you feel better!" Toph shouted at Aang before turning on her heels and walking away. 'Argh, what a stupid waste of time,'

The Blind Bandit was genuinely frustrated. She spent so many hours working with Aang, teaching him the correct stances and forms, toughening him up, just for Aang to chicken out when he was put to the test. The fact that he didn't have the guts to stop the incoming rock was already disappointing, but when she berated Aang for his lack of spine, he simply sat there and took it like a submissive wimp.

That was what irritated Toph the most. How could the Avatar, the most powerful bender in the world, be so soft and meek? He could've asked to try again. Heck, he could've at least berate her back or something, but instead, he responded by sucking on his thumb like a big baby. It didn't help that Katara kept coddling Aang, telling him things like 'Don't worry, you gave it your best effort' or 'You should take a break and try again once you're feeling better'. The waterbender had good intentions, sure, but she didn't realize her way of showing Aang her support was doing more harm than good in this particular situation.

Avatar or not, her student would never learn Earthbending unless he had a change of attitude and showed some backbone.

"Hey there, Toph,"

The earthbender stopped walking and turned her head to where Shujinko was, having felt his presence earlier thanks to her seismic sense. "What do you want, Shujinko?"

"Me? Nothing. I just happened to be nearby when I heard you yelling at Aang, something about him being too spineless to stop a rock from crashing into him. Looks like teaching him Earthbending is gonna' be more challenging than what we all anticipated, huh?"

"Tch, you can say that again," Toph replied, frowning in annoyance. "He wants to learn Earthbending but he doesn't have the right mentality for it, and without that, he might as well quit now and start using a slingshot. It's the closest thing to Earthbending he'll ever get to use,"

Shujinko snorted. The idea of the almighty Avatar using something as mundane and childish as a slingshot to take down hordes of enemies was an amusing one. For someone like him, who had been trained from a young age to handle and wield deadly weapons such as kunais, shurikens, and explosive tags, a slingshot was barely more dangerous than a spitball.

"Let's just hope it doesn't come to that. Aang is a good guy, and he's no slacker from what I've seen. He'll just have to adjust himself to your teaching methods," he said, to which Toph raised an eyebrow.

"You're not gonna' suggest me to treat him more delicately like Sugar Queen does?"

"Sugar Queen? Is that Katara you're referring to?" Shujinko asked, only to feel stupid seconds after. What other girl could Toph be referring to if not Katara? "Well, no. I don't think it would be appropriate for me to suggest someone else how to do a job I can't do myself. You're the Earthbending master here, not me. Besides, Aang has to learn something more important than Earthbending, more important than any other kind of bending for that matter,"

"And what exactly is more important than bending?"

"The ability to deal with struggle and adapt to the circumstances," the Chunin responded. "Aang wants to learn Earthbending from you, but as you just stated, he doesn't have the right mentality for it. We can say he's out of his comfort zone when it comes to Earthbending. The way I see it, life is full of situations that pull us out of our comfort zone, and if we're not willing to adapt to those situations, then we'll never be able to handle them in the future,"

Toph stared at him for a moment, then smirked teasingly. "Huh, well wasn't that deep and wise. I didn't realize we had a sage in our group,"

"A sage?" Shujinko repeated. "I mean, technically speaking, you could say I'm a sage, but that's a conversation for another moment. Anyways, what are you going to do with Aang? You're not going to hang him out to dry, are you?"

The earthbender crossed her arms and raised her chin, making a thoughtful expression. "I am willing to give him another chance, but I'm not sure how to go about it. I need to push his buttons and get him to confront me. Do you have any ideas?"

Shujinko looked at the ground and contemplated what could be done about Aang. The airbender was a kind, good-natured kid with a golden heart. He rarely got angry or lost his temper, and when it happened, it was because the group was in some sort of trouble, but even then he would regain his optimistic and positive attitude shortly afterward. Toph was basically asking how to get Aang to behave in a way he normally wouldn't, and it was hard to come up with a scenario where that would happen.

For some reason, Kakashi's bell test came to his mind. The true purpose behind the test had been for the Genins of Team 7 to work together in order to achieve a seemingly impossible goal, which was to take the bells from the Jounin. In a way, Kakashi had manipulated them into displaying teamwork, and that manipulation was what had gotten Shujinko, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura to pass the test without even realizing its true meaning until Kakashi had explained it to them.

"If you ask me, maybe you should try to make Aang realize he does have what it takes to learn Earthbending without making it obvious. You're not going to get a confrontational reaction out of him unless he's in a position where he has no other choice but to be confrontational. But if he's aware of what you're trying to do, he'll probably dismiss or ignore you,"

"In other words, I have to trick Twinkletoes into confronting me? Is that what you're suggesting?"

"… I suppose so?"

Toph grinned. "That's good enough for me. Thanks Shujinko, you've been really insightful," And just like that, The Blind Bandit began to walk away, rubbing her palms together with mischievous intent. After all, not only was she an amazing earthbender. She was also a sly brat capable of exasperating anyone around her if she put her mind into it, and that certainly included the Avatar.

As for Shujinko, there was only one thing he was thinking of as he saw Toph leaving. 'I sure hope this ends well,'

* * *

"This is bad. This is really, really bad," Aang said as he stared in fear at the saber-tooth Moose Lion in front of them. The giant creature was growling, raking her hoof across the dry earth. You could see the fury in her eyes as she got ready to stomp and make mincemeat of those two for daring to put their hands on her cub. "Sokka, why did you have to go after Foo Foo Cuddlypoops?"

"Hey! I needed food and Foo Foo Cuddlypoops was standing right there! How was I supposed to know this would happen?" Sokka defended himself. The boy from the Southern Water Tribe had been trapped in a ground fissure after attempting to hunt the saber-tooth Moose Lion's cub for dinner, with only his head and his fingers sticking out. "Look Aang, you have to help me get out of here. Airbending isn't gonna' work! You need to use Earthbending!"

"I can't use Earthbending, I don't know how to do it!" Aang replied. The saber-tooth Moose Lion had already charged at them twice, and his Airbending had only allowed the monk to evade the beast without harming her. However, the saber-tooth Moose Lion was fixated on mauling them both, and it didn't seem like the pacifistic nature of Airbending was helping them right now.

"But you have to try! It's our only chance!" Sokka shouted back before glancing at the irate mother of Foo Foo Cuddlypoops. "Oh no, she's coming at us again!"

The saber-tooth Moose Lion let out a bellow and charged. As he saw the beast approaching, Aang frowned. If he couldn't convince the Moose Lion they weren't a threat to her and her cub, then he was left with no other choice but to make her leave, even if it meant using force. With or without Earthbending, there was absolutely no way Aang would ever allow his friends to get hurt. He had to act now.

Aang took a step forward and waited for the Moose Lion to get closer to where he was. He filled his lungs with oxygen, flexing the muscles of his arms as he went into an Airbending stance. Then, just when the rampaging creature was about to run over them, the Avatar jumped and pushed his arms forward, releasing a powerful gale of wind. The Moose Lion was sent sprawling across the ground, raising dust everywhere. Without missing a beat, the bald monk went back into his previous Airbending stance, ready to strike the Moose Lion a second time.

Thankfully, there was no need for that. As soon as the Moose Lion got back on her feet, she grabbed her cub by the scruff of the neck and took off, having recognized Aang as a far too dangerous threat. The young airbender let out a sigh of relief, but then, the sound of hands clapping reached his ears. When he turned around, he saw Toph casually sitting on a rock, a smug smile on her face. Shujinko was there as well, but unlike the earthbender next to him, he just looked awkward and doubtful.

"What are you two doing here?" Sokka asked.

"Who, us? We were just enjoying the show," Toph replied casually.

"Enjoying the show?" Aang repeated as his incredulousness quickly transformed into anger. "What's the matter with you? Sokka and I were in danger and you didn't lift a finger to help us!"

Toph merely shrugged his shoulders. "I guess it just didn't occur to either of us. Besides, we were too busy eating our snacks to care about anything else," And just to add the cherry on top, the blind earthbender dropped a handful of dry fruits to the ground and grabbed Aang's staff, ready to use it as a hammer. "Here Shujinko, let's have some more,"

But Aang had had enough. Before Toph could stomp the dry fruits with the staff, he walked over to where she was and snatched it away from her hands. "You know what? I'm fed up with you and your attitude! I don't care if you don't teach me Earthbending, I'm not letting you walk over me any longer!"

There was a moment of silence during which Aang glared harshly at Toph and Shujinko. He was especially angry at Shujinko, who hadn't said or done anything. Aang had little doubt Shujinko could have and would have helped him take care of the Moose Lion, so why was he acting as if nothing was going on? Why wasn't he at least reprimanding Toph?

To his surprise, Toph seemed pleased with him. She stood up and placed her hands on her hips before giving Shujinko a knowing look. "See? I told you this would work," she said before facing Aang. "Congratulations, Twinkletoes. You passed the test,"

"I… Huh?" Aang blinked, clearly confused by Toph's words. "Wait, this whole thing was just a test?"

Shujinko shrugged. "Pretty much. We're sorry for putting you through this, but according to Toph, it had to be done. I promised her I wouldn't intervene,"

"… I don't understand what's going on," the Avatar admitted, looking absolutely befuddled by the unexpected turn of events.

The Blind Bandit jumped off the rock she was sitting and stood in front of Aang. "I'll tell you what's going on. You just showed you have the guts to stand up for yourself. You stood your ground against that dangerous Moose Lion on your own and without flinching. What's even more impressive, you stood your ground against me. Do you get it now? If you're able to do that, then you definitely have what it takes to learn Earthbending,"

It was only then that Aang began to process everything he was being presented with. Toph had wanted to prove a point, or rather, she had wanted him to prove a point to himself. And the point was… that he could stand up for himself? Aang wasn't really sure if things had to go so far in order for him to realize that, but at least now he knew there had been a purpose to all of this. "I… I think I get it now,"

"In that case, do it. I wanna' see your Earthbending now that you know what to do," Toph ordered him.

"Huh? Right now? But I just-"

"I said do it!"

Aang gulped. He turned to Shujinko, who simply nodded at him encouragingly. Within a few seconds, he spotted a rock not too far away from where he was standing, and he slowly made his way towards it.

Once the rock was almost at arm's length, Aang felt a queasy sensation in his stomach and started having second thoughts. He remembered how he failed to stop the rock from earlier, how he chickened out at the last minute. This could very well be his last chance to prove himself to Toph, and just the thought of that was enough to make his hands shake. What if he failed again? What if he embarrassed himself? What if…

'… No, it's not going to be like that,' Aang told himself. He was done wallowing in self-doubt. If he could confront a raging Moose Lion and Toph, then surely he could confront a stupid rock.

He took a deep breath, aimed at the rock and punched the empty air…

…and the rock moved. Not only did it move, but it dragged itself backwards for several feet until crashing against a boulder. The rock shattered into pieces as small stones and pebbles were scattered all over the place.

Toph was the first to smile. "You did it, Twinkletoes. You're officially an earthbender,"

"I did it… I did it!" Aang exclaimed as a huge grin took over his face, unable to contain his excitement. "Sokka, Shujinko, you guys saw that? I moved that rock using Earthbending! It wasn't even that hard to do!"

"Hooray, hooray, you went from being a water-splasher to a rock-tosser. I'm proud of ya', buddy," Sokka replied with a tired smile. "And since we're on the subject, would you mind using your new powers to help me get out of here? I can't feel my legs anymore, and my butt's been itching for like an hour,"

Aang was more than happy to make use of his new Earthbending, but Toph stepped in and told him she would take care of it, as the Avatar didn't have enough experience controlling the earth and could end up crushing his friend to death. With a single stomp of her foot, Toph opened the ground fissure and Sokka was spat out of it. Katara soon joined the group and helped her brother to walk, grabbing his arm and placing it around her shoulders, all the while Sokka kept whispering 'Freedom. Sweet, sweet freedom'.

'It looks like everything did end well, after all,' Shujinko thought as he too helped Sokka. 'I wonder how long our luck is going to last this time,'

* * *

"And so it had to come to this,"

As he stood on top of a tall hill, the cloaked man stared at the cloudless sky. A full moon illuminated the rivers of the valley, and the wind was blowing a cold, gentle midnight breeze. He should be feeling weary after traveling nonstop for days, but on the contrary, he was feeling restless. After years of searching, planning, and waiting, the time for action was almost there. He could feel it.

The cloaked man stuck his hand inside his garments and drew out a huge golden jewel. The Eye of Kazemaru shone brightly, telling the hooded individual where to go in order to find its counterpart. He would soon have the chance to introduce himself to the boy, the antagonist of his destiny.

"…The encounter of two forces… The clash of two fates… The savior… The condemner… Everything is falling into place, just as the prophecy foretold,"

Aaaaaand that was chapter 9. Hope you all liked it.

Honestly, there isn't a whole lot to talk about in this chapter. I wanted to start with the episode 'Bitter Work' before getting to 'The Chase', and I have my reasons for it. All I can say is you guys better be ready for the next chapter, because boy will there be action.

Peace!


	10. Chapter 10

**CHAPTER 10: ON THE RUN**

(Disclaimer: Avatar The Last Airbender belongs to Nickelodeon and Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. I only own my OC's)

(PLEASE READ: THIS IS NOT A SEQUEL TO "SHUJINKO: THE FOURTH MEMBER", BUT A DIFFERENT STORY WITH SHUJINKO AS THE MAIN CHARACTER. THIS STORY WILL NOT HAVE ANY EFFECT WHATSOEVER IN "SHUJINKO SHIPPUDEN". I REPEAT THIS IS NOT A SEQUEL TO SHUJINKO'S ORIGINAL STORY)

Summary: One night, a stranger breaks into Shujinko's house and tries to steal one of the most mystical objects in the history of the Ozuma clan: The Eye of Kazemaru. When Shujinko tries to stop him, the two of them activate an ancient and forgotten power of the gem by accident, which sends them to another dimension where a certain bald-headed monk has to master the four elements in order to defeat the evil Fire Lord. What kind of impact will Shujinko's presence have in the Avatar universe? Who is this stranger and what does he want? Get ready for one wild space-time adventure

* * *

The day after Aang's first successful attempt at Earthbending, Team Avatar set out to find a new place to hide and lay low. While they could've stayed at the abandoned rock quarry for a couple more days, Shujinko had heavily advised against it, claiming that the chances of them getting caught by the Fire Nation would increase the longer they remained stationary. When asked if it was necessary for them to move out when there was no immediate need to do so, Shujinko replied with _"Shinobi rule number 30: Always keep your enemies guessing, even when they're not around,"_

Both Aang and Katara thought the Chunin was exaggerating, but to their surprise, Toph was actually on board with the idea. Not because she was thinking along the same lines as Shujinko though, but rather because this was her first time exploring the real world and she wanted to visit as many places as she could. Besides, other than lifting, moving, and throwing the same stones over and over again, there really wasn't a whole lot to do in a rock quarry. As for Sokka, he pointed out the scarcity of resources around them and how there was barely any game to hunt, as well as how he didn't fancy getting stuck inside a hole again.

With two votes against and three votes in favor, Team Avatar ended up leaving the rock quarry in search of a new camping site. After flying for a couple of hours, they came across a rural region of the Earth Kingdom surrounded by humped hills. They decided to stop there since it was getting late in the evening and they needed to start setting up their camp. Aang chose a spot that seemed open enough for them to rest comfortably and secluded enough to avoid being seen.

"Alright, this place looks good enough," Aang said after Appa landed on the ground. "What do you guys think?"

"Are you kidding me? After spending a week in a boring and uncomfortable rock quarry, this is paradise," Sokka said with a smile as he tossed his sleeping bag to the ground. "Hey, you know what I was thinking? Since Appa is shedding, we should use his fur to make sleeping mats. Just imagine all the warm and cozy naps we would enjoy,"

Toph scoffed at that. "No way. Everybody knows the earth beneath our feet is the best sleeping mat one could ask for,"

While Sokka started ranting about how only a lunatic would choose to sleep on the hard ground, Shujinko was too busy noticing the amount of hair scattered around the campsite. Appa was a big and furry animal, and the amount of fur he was shedding could potentially become a problem for them. "Hey Aang, how long does it takes for Appa to shed all of his fur?" Shujinko asked with a slight frown on his face.

Aang, who was carrying a couple of logs of firewood to the center of the campsite, stopped to think about it. "I'm not exactly sure, but it shouldn't take longer than a couple of days. Why do you ask?"

The Chunin picked up a sample of Appa's fur from the ground and examined it carefully before meeting Aang's eyes. "If Appa continues to shed this much fur, it'll end up leaving a trace behind for others to pick up. That's something we have to avoid at all costs. Is there any way we can fix this?"

"Fix?" Aang seemed surprised for a while before a frown appeared on his face. "What do you mean by that? There's nothing about Appa that needs fixing,"

"You know that's not what I'm talking about. I'm just trying to make sure no one follows us. From what I've heard, you guys have had people from the Fire Nation hot on your heels for a long time. It wouldn't make much sense to give them an opportunity to find us, now would it?"

"Shujinko has a point, you know," Katara chimed in while she and her brother were raising their tent. "I mean, when you think about it, Zuko has been trying to capture you ever since the day we found you in that iceberg. He already used my mother's necklace to track us down, so I wouldn't say the possibility of him doing the same with Appa's fur is too farfetched,"

Shujinko raised an eyebrow. "Zuko? Who is Zuko?"

"Oh, you know, just an angsty teenager obsessed with capturing Aang. He's been following us around the world like a madman, and he also looks like one with that hairstyle and that scar on his face," Sokka said in a dismissing tone. "He also claims to be the prince of the Fire Nation, so yeah, there's also that. We've come across so many weirdoes that we kind of got used to them at this point,

"The prince of the Fire Nation is after Aang?" Shujinko lowered his gaze as he furrowed his brow. He didn't know what to do with this new piece of information or how relevant it was. All he knew is that he found it to be rather odd. "That doesn't make much sense to me. I mean, I get that the Fire Nation wants to capture the Avatar, but why would they send the next Fire Lord to do the job? If Zuko is indeed the heir to the crown, then surely his life should be protected instead of being placed in danger,"

He expected an answer to that question from either Aang or one of the Water Tribe siblings, but when his words were met with an uncertain silence, Shujinko decided not to push the subject. However, that didn't mean he wasn't going to dwell on it any further. As he helped to get a fire going, the young shinobi kept thinking about the fact that the son of the Fire Lord was chasing them down personally. It made as much sense as the Feudal Lord sending his own son to fight a war against a neighboring country. 'There has to be a missing element here. Maybe Zuko has a personal interest in all this, but I can't draw any conclusions without knowing more about him first,'

Meanwhile, Katara saw something that made her furrow her brow. While everyone else was busy working, Toph was chilling out inside her own stone tent a little further away from the camp. The fact that Toph wasn't lifting a finger to help them rubbed Katara the wrong way, but since she was new to the group, the waterbender decided to take the initiative in a gentle way. After all, this was the first time Toph was living with a group of people around her age, so she didn't necessarily know how things worked.

Once she was close enough to Toph, Katara cleared her throat. "So, Toph, usually when setting up camp we try to divide up the work," she began to say.

The earthbender shrugged her shoulders. "Hey, don't worry about me. I'm all set up. My tent is ready and I have plenty of snacks to eat," she replied while lifting a small bag of edibles. "As you can see, I'm good to go,"

"… Well, what I'm getting at here is that some of us are in charge of fetching water while some of us are in charge of cooking the meals, for example. I'm not exactly sure what task you'd be doing, but-"

"Katara, I'm fine. I can carry my own weight," Toph interrupted her, something that irked Katara. "Besides, why should I waste my time doing chores I'm not going to benefit from? You're the ones who'll be using those tents, not me. You're the ones who'll be eating that food, not me. So how about we start getting along and stop bothering each other?"

The girl from the Southern Water Tribe clenched her fists and took a deep breath, trying her best to keep her frustration under control. Despite being a mature young woman, Katara's patience ran thin whenever someone gave her attitude. She certainly wasn't asking anything unreasonable from Toph. Not wanting to cause a scene in front of everyone, Katara turned on her heels and walked away with a sour expression on her face. "… Never mind,"

Once the camp was set up, everyone gathered around the cooking pot and had dinner together, except for Toph who stayed inside her tent. Shujinko took notice of that and wondered why she wouldn't join them, but since Toph seemed to be perfectly comfortable resting where she was, he decided it wasn't a big deal. There was, however, something he wanted to bring up. It was an issue he hadn't thought about up until now, one that could seriously compromise the group's mission, maybe even his own.

"Hey Aang," Shujinko said, gaining the attention of the Avatar. "You said you have to master all four elements before the arrival of Sozin's Comet, right?"

Aang swallowed a spoonful of stew before addressing the question. "Yup, that's basically the plan,"

"And how are you going to learn Firebending from a master when all the firebenders out there are after your head? Because I don't think we can capture a Fire Nation soldier and force him to give you Firebending lessons,"

His question seemed to have a negative impact on Aang, who frowned at the flames of the fire that was heating up the cooking pot. It took him a while to answer to Shujinko, and when he did, Aang had a rather troubled expression on his face. "To tell you the truth, I don't know. We once came across Jeong Jeong, a firebender who was willing to teach me the basics of Firebending, but he had to run away and so did we… The thing is, I know I'm supposed to learn Firebending, but I don't think I want to,"

That last statement caught Shujinko off guard. "Why? With everything that's going on around here, why wouldn't you want to learn Firebending?"

"… Because I've seen what Firebending does to the world and what it can do to people," Aang replied, an uncomfortable look on his face. "When Jeong Jeong was teaching me Firebending, I got distracted for a moment and I ended up hurting Katara. It was an accident, I didn't mean to do it, but I did. Fire is the most dangerous element of all and it has caused too much pain. I can't stand the idea of hurting those around me, and if Firebending can do that, then I don't want to learn it,"

There was a moment of silence during which Aang kept his head low, remembering how awful he felt when Katara got her hands burnt. It was true that things could've gotten a lot worse for Katara, and it was also true Katara was able to discover her healing abilities thanks to that accident, but even so, Aang had yet to completely forgive himself for hurting her. From that day on, Aang had never attempted to do Firebending again, not only because he didn't know how to do it, but also because he refused to repeat the same mistake. His friends were more important to him than Firebending or any bending could ever be.

The Water Tribe siblings also remained quiet as they dwelled on how much destruction the Fire Nation and Firebending had brought upon their lives. The raids on the Southern Water Tribe, the death of their beloved mother, the invasion of the Kyoshi Island, the attack on the Northern Water Tribe, Yue's sacrifice, the taking of the city of Omashu, and many other similar instances had been the result of firebenders and their thirst for war. Nothing had torn the world apart as the Fire Nation had. It was hard to think of firebenders as anything else other than terrible people, and in some cases, monsters.

Shujinko finally was the one who broke the silence. "… I don't mean to offend you, Aang… But I think you're being silly on this,"

"Silly?" At first, Aang was so surprised by what Shujinko had said that he didn't know how to react. Sokka and Katara were no exception, as they were just as taken aback as the airbender was. "What are you talking about? I just don't want to hurt anyone. What's so silly about that?" Aang asked in a defensive tone as he narrowed his eyes.

"There's nothing silly about not wanting to hurt your friends. It's your way of approaching the problem that I find silly," Unlike Aang, Shujinko was completely calm, as if he was talking about trivial matters instead of a moral dilemma. "From what you just told me, Katara got hurt when you tried Firebending for the first time. I have no doubt you didn't do it on purpose, but that doesn't change the fact you were the one at fault. Firebending itself didn't hurt Katara, you did,"

"What are you getting at?"

"It's simple. You talk about Firebending like it's a tool of evilness, but from my point of view, it's no different than any other form of bending. Just like Ninjutsu, bending is power, and there's no such thing as a good power or a bad power. Being a firebender doesn't make a person inherently bad, the same way being an airbender doesn't make you inherently good. What you do with that power, what you decide to use it for, that's what determines the kind of person that you are,"

"That's easy for you to say, you haven't seen what we've seen," Sokka said, adopting a serious tone of voice. As much as he enjoyed cracking jokes and making humorous remarks, there was nothing remotely funny about how Firebending had ruined people's lives all across the world for nearly a hundred years. "I don't know what kind of wars have taken place in the Five Great Shinobi Nations, Shujinko, but here, the Fire Nation is responsible for pretty much everything that has happened. If firebenders aren't evil, then how come they're the ones who are always starting trouble?"

"Because bad people exist, Sokka, and bad people use their power to do bad things. It's not about where they come from. If the Earth Kingdom or the Water Tribes had started the war, then earthbenders and waterbenders would be perceived as evil, even when we know Earthbending and Waterbending aren't evil things. The way I see it, bending is like a weapon, and a weapon has no morality of its own,"

His answer caused both Aang and Katara to widen their eyes. It was somewhat surprising for the pair of them to hear such a pragmatic approach towards bending, stripping away all of its philosophical layers and reducing it to its bare core. Aang felt especially antagonized by Shujinko's vision of bending. As an Air Nomad, he'd been raised to believe Airbending was a way of life, and a particularly peaceful one at that. For Shujinko to equate bending (and Airbending by extension) to a weapon felt not only wrong but disrespectful as well.

On the other hand, Sokka found himself hard-pressed to argue against the Chunin's logic. If anything, he had to admit Shujinko's point of view made sense to him, at least to an extent. As a non-bender, Sokka had never bothered to understand bending the way Katara and Aang did. After all, why should he? While the rest of Team Avatar had special powers to rely on, Sokka was forced to make do with brawn and brains. Had he been born with any bending abilities, Sokka was pretty sure he would use them just like he used his machete, cub, and boomerang.

Shujinko then stood up and stretched his back. "In any case, this is just my opinion. I'm hardly an expert on the subject of bending, so feel free to disagree with me here," he said in an attempt to diffuse the growing tension. In all honesty, the Ozuma was enjoying the debate they were having, but it wasn't worth it if was going to end in sour moods. He then looked at Aang, who was still frowning at him. "All I'm saying here is that you might want to reconsider your stance on Firebending. All of your previous lives learned it at some point, right? Maybe there's more to Firebending than you think. Anyways, I'm gonna go check on Toph. See you guys in the morning,"

As Shujinko walked away, Aang let out a sigh of frustration. He didn't know what to make of Shujinko's advice. One part of him wanted to believe the golden-eyed teen simply didn't know what he was talking about, but at the same time, he couldn't deny there was some truth to be found in his words. If Firebending was inherently dangerous and evil, how come there used to be peace before the Hundred Year War? Was it possible that his perception of Firebending was inaccurate?

Katara, who had remained silent up until then, felt the need to lighten the mood with the first idea that came to her head. "So… Does anyone wants seconds?" she asked, only to receive looks of confusion from Aang and Sokka. "Okay, I was only asking. Sheesh,"

Meanwhile, Shujinko slowly made his way to Toph's earth tent, where the Blind Bandit was apparently taking a nap. Once he got there, Shujinko stood in front of her tent, trying to see whether if she was awake or not. After a short while, Toph lowered her chin and raised an eyebrow at Shujinko. "You want to talk to me or are you just standing there because you feel like it?"

The Ozuma chuckled. "Sorry, I wasn't sure whether you were sleeping or not," he said before taking a seat next to the tent, resting his back against one of the diagonal pillars. "Mind if I keep you company for a while?"

"Meh, do what you want. I don't really care,"

"Thanks," Once he got himself comfortable, Shujinko took a deep breath and exhaled through his nostrils, looking at the stars in the sky. "I think I ruffled some feathers back there,"

"You sure did. I heard the conversation all the way from here. Comparing bending to a weapon… That's an original point of view you've got there,"

Shujinko was slightly surprised someone was willing to give him some credit. "So you actually agree with what I said back there?"

"Nope, not at all. I said your point of view was original, not accurate, at least from my perspective. Sure, it's fun to kick people's butts using bending, but for me, Earthbending is more than that. It's how I see the world, how I interact with it. Without Earthbending, I'd be even blinder than I already am,"

"… I guess. This bending stuff is more complicated than I thought," Shujinko admitted. "From where I come from, those who have my kind of power don't really treat it the way you people treat bending. I mean, we wield it against our enemies and use it to our advantage like all of you do with bending, but that's all there is to it. There are no emotions or morality involved in Ninjutsu. It's a tool more than a way of life,"

Toph turned her head to the right to face Shujinko, ignoring the pillar of earth standing between them. "Ninjutsu? That's the power Twinkletoes told me about the night we got captured. Is that what you used against me when we fought against each other?"

"That's right, although I only used it during my last attack. The rest of the fight was, well, natural, for lack of a better term. It was a Wind Style jutsu, the shinobi version of Airbending if you will. In order to perform jutsus, I use chakra, the shinobi version of chi,"

In a way, Toph felt glad to know about the existence of Ninjutsu. As a proud earthbender, her defeat at the hands of Shujinko had left a bad taste in her mouth and her ego had been quite bruised. At least now she knew her opponent had used a special power against her, a power so unique not even the Avatar could learn it. It was a trivial and inconsequential fact in the grand scheme of things, but it nursed her fighting spirit nonetheless.

"What else can you do with chakra?" Toph asked, keeping a casual tone of voice that betrayed the feeling of curiosity she felt inside.

"Let's see, I can make solid clones of myself and have them do things. I can transform myself into objects and adopt the physical appearance of others. I can increase my speed and jump great lengths. I can use Genjutsu and cast illusionary techniques upon people, although I'm not really that good at it. Oh, and I can also adhere my feet to almost any surface, solid or liquid, and move around without falling or sinking. There's a bunch of other stuff I can do, but that's what I mostly use chakra for,"

…

The Blind Bandit turned around, lying on her left side. She grabbed a pebble from the ground and started playing with it, passing it around her fingers. "You really do come from another part of the world, after all," she said, more to herself than to Shujinko. Once again, Toph's seismic sense hadn't picked a single change in Shujinko's heartbeat pattern despite his ridiculous claims, and at this point, Toph had no other choice but to believe in what he said. "So, what's your home like?"

It took Shujinko a while to come up with an answer to that question. Aang, Katara, and Sokka had asked him about his life in the village, but not about the village itself. "If you mean the Hidden Leaf Village, I'd say it's a good place to live in all things considered. Now, if you're talking about where I come from in general… Well, it's nice enough when people aren't chasing you around trying to hurt you,"

"Chasing you around? As in…" All of a sudden, Toph let out a gasp. Shujinko was about to ask her what was wrong, but the earthbender quickly undid her tent, causing Shujinko to fall on his back. Toph placed her hand on the ground and felt the vibrations of the earth, sensing powerful waves coming from a distance. "Everyone, get out of your tents now! We're being chased!"

Shujinko blinked three consecutive times as he got on his knees. "Yeah, kind of like that, but you didn't have to make such a realistic impression. People are sleeping, Toph,"

"No, I'm being serious! There's something coming towards us!"

The rest of Team Avatar got out of their tents and ran to where Toph was. Meanwhile, Shujinko reached for his kunai and got into a fighting position, looking left and right as he tried to detect the incoming threat. "What is it, Toph?" Aang asked, to which the earthbender placed her palm on the ground.

"It feels like an avalanche… but also not an avalanche at the same time,"

Sokka raised an eyebrow at that. "Wow, your powers of perception are out of this world,"

"Which direction is this… avalanche not avalanche coming from?" Shujinko asked.

"Right there," Toph pointed a finger at the forest and the rest of Team Avatar fell silent. No one could see anything out of the ordinary, but after a short while, a distant rumbling noise reached their ears.

Without a second to waste, Shujinko turned around and ran towards a small cliff that was nearby, jumping from one rock to another until he reached the top. Once he got to an elevated terrain, he activated the Karura Tensei and used his enhanced eyesight to see what exactly was coming towards them. Sure enough, something was closing in on them at high speed, raising giant clouds of dust and smoke along the way. It looked like a carriage of sorts, only way larger and made out of metal. Shujinko had never seen such a strange contraption before, but whatever that monstrosity was, it couldn't be good news.

Shujinko performed a summersault and landed on the ground, deactivating his Kekkei Genkai while in midair. He had yet to show his companions the Karura Tensei, and this was hardly the best of times to do so. "Did you see anything?" Sokka asked as Shujinko rejoined the group.

"Yeah, I saw a… Well, I have no idea what I saw, but it's huge and it's coming our way fast,"

Katara looked at Aang. "Do you think we should get out of here?"

"It's better to be safe than sorry. Come on, let's pack up and leave this place,"

* * *

|A few hours later|

"Oh, finally, sweet land!" As soon as Appa landed, Toph threw herself at the ground and started making dirt angels like a child playing in the snow. She even grabbed a bunch of dust and rubbed it against her cheeks. It was enough to get a chuckle out of Shujinko, who had gained a new understanding of what Earthbending meant to Toph thanks to their previous conversation.

The rest of Team Avatar wasn't feeling as enthusiastic as the earthbender or as calm as the ninja. It was already past midnight and they hadn't enjoyed a wink of sleep. Shujinko, on the other hand, was in much better shape than them. His experience as a shinobi allowed him to stay awake and active for longer periods of time than the average person, although he was well aware even ninjas got tired at some point. 'At least we managed to put some distance between us and that thing Toph felt earlier,' Shujinko thought. 'With some luck, we should be able to get a couple of hours of rest,'

Toph stretched her back, her joints making loud popping noises. "Well, I'm off to get some sleep. I'll see you guys in the morning,"

"Actually, could you help us unload?" Katara asked as Toph was beginning to walk away. The blind Beifong turned around and gave her a tired look.

"You need my help to unload Sokka's funky-smelling sleeping bag? Seriously?"

"Hey, I'll have you know my sleeping bag smells perfectly fine!" Sokka objected. He then held his sleeping bag close to his nose and gave it a good sniff. His face quickly turned a sickly green as he tossed the sleeping bag away. "Ugh! Okay, so maybe it's been a while since I last took a bath,"

"Out of curiosity, are there any showers in this part of the world?" Shujinko asked.

Aang blinked owlishly. "Showers? What are showers?"

The Chunin slapped his own forehead and sighed. "Never mind. I should probably stop asking these questions,"

"Anyways, where was I?" Toph asked no one in particular before snapping her fingers. "Oh, that's right, I was about to get some sleep. Good night everyone, have fun making your tents,"

"Toph, you clearly don't understand how things work around here," Katara said as she walked towards Toph, an annoyed frown on her face. That sarcastic remark at the end had been enough to exasperate the waterbender, who was feeling crankier than usual due to her lack of sleep. "Whether you like it or not, you're part of our group now. In this group, everyone has to pitch in and-"

"Oh great, another lecture from you," Toph cut her off rather rudely. "Listen Katara, I already told you I'm carrying my own weight. I didn't ask anyone to help me with my stuff and none of the boys in the group have asked me for help, so why can't you do the same?"

"Could you please stop missing the point on purpose?" This time, Katara raised her voice loud enough for everyone to hear, ignoring Shujinko's gestures to tone it down. "In case you forgot, there was a giant thing coming after us a couple of hours ago! We have to work together if we want to keep moving forward, so stop being so selfish and unhelpful!"

The Chunin grimaced as he ran a hand down his face. 'Oh boy, this is getting ugly,'

"_Excuse me? _I gave up everything I had just to teach Aang Earthbending, so don't you dare call me selfish or unhelpful!" The Blind Bandit yelled before sitting on the ground and raising an earth tent, covering all four sides. "Now leave me alone! Go annoy someone else, Sugar Queen!"

"S-Sugar Queen?" Katara repeated. Her face went red and steam began to pour out her ears. In a fit of rage, the waterbender started punching and kicking the walls as hard as she could, growling and gritting her teeth. "Gaaaah! How… can… you… be… so… infuriating!?"

Shujinko decided to intervene, worried that Katara might break a finger if she kept going at it. He approached Katara and grabbed her wrist, holding her firmly. "Alright, that's enough. You both need to calm down,"

"BOTH!? I'M COMPLETELY CALM!" Katara roared as she turned around, her eyes so wide they threatened to pop out of her head.

The shinobi winced at the volume of her voice, but his grasp on her wrist didn't falter. "You got that out of your system? Good, now come on. Let's go back to bed," Shujinko said before gently releasing her. Katara remained quiet for a moment, breathing heavily. At first, she seemed to have calmed down, but then she grabbed a rock from the ground and threw it at Toph's tent before storming off. Shujinko let out a sigh and began walking after her, frustrated by the childish behavior of both girls.

Sokka and Aang watched all of this happen from a safe distance, hiding on Appa's saddle like a pair of kids. "You know, Shujinko really is a brave guy," Sokka commented, to which Aang turned to him.

"Because he's a ninja?"

"No, because he withstood my sister's fury without so much as a flinch. That's bravery right there,"

000

"The stars sure look beautiful tonight," Katara said out of the blue. Aside from Toph, who was inside her earth tent, the members of Team Avatar were lying on the ground next to each other, having decided to sleep out in the open. They were too tired to raise their tents and sleep inside them. Besides, they didn't want to waste time packing in case they needed to make a second escape. Katara's comment had been fairly harmless, at least until what followed next. "Too bad you can't see them, Toph,"

Shujinko, who was still awake, was about to berate Katara for her pettiness. However, Toph got back at her rather quickly by punching the earth from inside her small shelter. A rumbling noise was heard, and seconds later, Katara's body bounced off the ground, jumping over Aang and Sokka before landing on the shinobi of the group.

"Oof!" the golden-eyed boy yelped, getting his wind knocked out of him and closing one eye.

Katara let out a grunt of pain after landing on Shujinko, hitting her face against his chest. When she pulled herself up, the waterbender blinked a couple of times to clear her eyesight. Once she did so, she was shocked to see a pair of golden eyes staring back at her. Shujinko's face was right in front of her, his lips mere inches away from hers. The two teens froze, locking their gazes with no idea of what was going on.

However, once the awkwardness of the situation kicked in, Shujinko and Katara pulled away from each other, both of them with huge blushes on their faces. Thankfully, Aang and Sokka were only half awake after hearing the commotion, so the embarrassing moment between the shinobi and the waterbender was barely noticed.

"Oh, for heaven's sake, can everyone just cut it out!?" Sokka exclaimed after being rudely awakened by Toph's Earthbending and Katara's shriek. "I'm trying to get some sleep here! Sleep! In case you didn't know, that means silence and quietness!"

"Yeah, what's the big idea?" Aang asked while rubbing his eyes. "Can we please leave the fights for another time? Or better yet, leave them all together?"

His question was left unanswered, however, as Toph suddenly crawled out of her tent with an alarmed look on her face. "Guys, that thing is back! I can feel it coming from behind!"

Upon hearing Toph's warning, the blush on the Ozuma's face faded away. He immediately got up and stared at the sky, where he saw a large column of smoke approaching their position. "This doesn't make any sense. It took us hours to get here, how come they're tracking us so easily?"

"Let's leave the questions for later. Wait just a second…" Sokka said as he rose to his feet. Then, he slapped himself in the face rather hard, leaving a reddish mark shaped like a hand on his cheek. "Ouch! Okay, I'm awake. Now let's get away from here, that thing won't stop until it catches us. Team Avatar, to the Flying Bison!"

* * *

"It seems our prey isn't too keen on letting us capture him,"

The words of Azula were met with silence. Mai and Ty Lee watched as the princess of the Fire Nation plucked a strand of fur from the ground and held it close to her face. Azula then tossed the strand of fur away and got on her knees, examining the giant footprints marked on the surface of the earth. There was no doubt they belonged to that beast the Avatar had for a pet. It was rather ironic how the Avatar's only means of transportation was precisely what was helping her track him down, at least until those fools realized their furry companion was leaving a trail behind.

"So what now, Azula?" Ty Lee asked.

"Now we stick to the plan. We'll chase after the Avatar and his friends all night long if we have to. They know their only options are to fight or keep fleeing, and once they finally face us, they'll be exhausted. The lack of rest will weaken their bodies while the pressure of being hunted down will weaken their minds,"

Mai furrowed her brow. "What if they decide not to fight us? They've been running away from us since New Ozai, I don't see what would make them want to confront us directly,"

"They won't have another alternative," Azula replied with an evil gleam in her eyes. "Humans and beasts alike need to sleep at some point. Machines, on the other hand, do not,"

* * *

As they traveled across the sky, Shujinko sat in silence, thinking about the predicament they were in.

Somehow, the Fire Nation had caught wind of them and they couldn't shake them off. Being found once may have been a coincidence. Being found twice was a pattern. 'Something must be giving away our location,' Shujinko thought with his brow furrowed. 'They know we're in the run, and the longer this cat and mouse game drags on, the bigger our disadvantage grows. We need to put an end to this and fast. The lack of sleep is wearing us down including Appa, making us an easier target to chase after. The most efficient course of action, both in the short and long term, is to take care of those tracking us down while we still have some strength left,'

However, and as it was so often the case, it was easier said than done. They would have to either take down the machine or deal with whoever was inside of it. Shujinko was confident he could do the second, but he would have to draw them out of the machine before that could happen, and he had yet to come up with a strategy that could work. He needed more time, more information…

"Hey guys, who do you think is tracking us down?" Shujinko asked, gaining everyone's attention. "You mentioned the prince of the Fire Nation has been chasing you around for a while. I think his name was Zuko or something like that. Could he be the one?"

"It could be, but we haven't seen Zuko since he found us at the North Pole," Aang replied, fatigue all too noticeable in his voice. He had trouble keeping his blinking under control, and the bags under his eyes were making him feel uncomfortable. "For all we know, it could be anyone from the Fire Nation,"

"I bet it's because of what happened in Gi Yuin Village," Sokka said. "Think about it. After all the trouble we stirred up in that town, those Fire Nation soldiers must've alerted every settlement in the Earth Kingdom. They know we're here, so running into them was just a matter of time,"

Katara nodded in agreement. "They could also be that group of girls from Omashu. They nearly caught us when we tried to rescue Bumi,"

This caught Shujinko's attention. "Girls? What group of girls?"

"I don't know. We had never seen them before, but they were dangerous. And I mean, really dangerous,"

"Could you describe them to me? Physical appearance, abilities, anything,"

"Well, they're about our age, maybe a little older than us. One of them was a firebender, I think her name was Azula. She could make blue flames and she had a way about her that was just intimidating. Two other girls were with her, one who was sulky and other who was strangely perky. The sulky girl threw weapons with extreme accuracy and the perky one was a martial artist of sorts. I don't like to say this, but they were pretty impressive fighting together,"

Shujinko listened to Katara's every word as he assessed this new threat. By having a firebender, a markswoman and a Taijutsu user, those three girls covered long, medium, and short-range combat. Not only that, but they also seemed to display teamwork according to Katara, which was the most important element in a squad. Shujinko didn't know whether if the blue flames Azula was able to produce were considerably more dangerous than normal flames or not, but judging by the way Katara spoke of them, they seemed to be a big deal. He would have to take them into account if he ever encountered that girl.

A sneer from Toph interrupted the Chunin's train of thought. "So what if they're impressive fighting together? I say we should land and wait for them to come to us. We can take care of them and get rid of the problem right away,"

"You don't know what you're talking about, Toph. You haven't seen those girls fight," the waterbender retorted. "I mean, the deranged firebender and the broody knife-thrower are bad enough, but the other girl did something to me that took my bending away. That is just scary,"

"She took your bending away?" Shujinko asked surprised. "How did she do that? Didn't you say she was a martial artist?"

"I'm not sure how she did it either. She dodged my attacks and threw some finger jabs at me. My body went limp and I couldn't move any of the muscles she had struck. It wasn't too painful, but it felt extremely unpleasant. When I tried Waterbending again, my chi wasn't responding. It's hard to describe, but something inside me felt blocked, almost like a clogged dam,"

The golden-eyed boy made a fist and leaned his cheek against it as images of Neji and Hinata appeared in his mind. What Katara had just described sounded a lot like the Hyuga's Gentle Fist, a legendary Taijutsu feared by ninjas from all nations. Thanks to the Byakugan, a member of the Hyuga clan could see a shinobi's chakra network and disrupt the flow of energy by hitting the chakra points located throughout the pathway system. Shujinko could see why Katara was so spooked, because that girl could neutralize her Waterbending and leave her completely defenseless as a result.

"Whatever you say. It seems to me you're just scared of them, Katara. I still think we should take them on. Once those girls get a taste of my Earthbending, I'll have them running back to the Fire Nation,"

"Ha ha, what a funny joke, Toph. The way I see it, if those girls were to attack us, you'd probably sit back and let us do all the work just like you always do,"

"Alright, that's enough. Knock it off, you two," Shujinko said as he went back to sitting straight, his voice loud and clear. "Do I need to remind you we're being followed by the Fire Nation? Bickering amongst ourselves isn't helping our situation in the slightest, so I'm going to have to ask both of you to stop,"

"You're asking _me _to stop?" Katara asked incredulously. "I'm not the one who started it!"

"I don't care who started what, I'm putting an end to it. We already have enough problems with the Fire Nation on our heels. If you have to argue, at least be mature enough to wait until this mess is over," the Chunin replied with a straight face, concealing the annoyance he was feeling.

As a member of Team 7, Shujinko was no stranger to group discussions. The golden-eyed boy considered himself to be an honest and straightforward individual, and if he had a personal issue with one of his teammates, he would let them know about it. However, there was a time and a place for those sorts of things, and hearing both Toph and Katara throwing shade at each other during the middle of a chase was a tad bit exasperating. Couldn't they see they had bigger problems to worry about?

"Oh yeah, and why should we listen to you?" Toph asked in a defiant tone. "Don't go around thinking you're everyone's boss just because you can do that wacky Ninjutsu thing. That doesn't make you better than any of us,"

"I never said I'm better than any of you, nor do I go around pretending I am. All I'm saying here is that this isn't the time for childish squabbles. If for whatever reason you have a bone to pick with either me or Katara, keep it to yourself for the time being, and once we're out of trouble, then you can have a go at whoever you want. That's really not a whole lot to ask, Toph, and the same goes for you, Katara,"

The earthbender didn't seem very happy with being told what to do and clicked her tongue briskly, but thankfully she left it at that. Katara didn't reply either, and simply turned her head away from Shujinko's gaze. The Ozuma sighed, wondering if this was how Kakashi felt whenever the Genins of Team 7 got into a stupid argument. 'Kakashi-sensei sure was patient with us. I just hope these quarrels don't happen too often, otherwise we can kiss our teamwork goodbye,'

Sokka, who hadn't bothered to get involved in the silly dispute between his sister and Toph, let out a prolonged yawn. "Anyways, what are we going to do now? I don't like being the guy that has to point out the obvious, but we can't keep running forever. Either we face the Fire Nation while we still have some energy left or we find a new place to hide. Which one of those options should we go for?"

"Well, I think I have an idea," Shujinko said, gaining everyone's attention. "Aang, how long can Appa stay awake?"

"I'm not sure, but maybe until sunrise. It's hard to guess since we've never been in this kind of situation before,"

"In that case, the only way we can get some rest is by sleeping while flying on Appa. The Fire Nation can't capture us as long as we're in the air, and given how easily they've been able to track us down, finding a new place to hide right now would be pointless. However, if we rest while we fly, we'll all get a couple of hours' worth of sleep until Appa is forced to land, and once that happens, we can confront whoever is after us with some of our strength replenished. I know it's risky, but it's the only solution I can come up with,"

Sokka raised a quizzical eyebrow at that. "Flawless logic, but there's one problem. One of us would have to stay awake all night so that the others can rest. Appa needs someone to guide him as he flies, because otherwise, we might end up in the middle of nowhere with no sense of direction. Don't forget he's just as tired as we are, and as much as I love our fluffy flying buddy, I don't really expect him to know how to read a map,"

"That's the part where I come in. Shadow Clone Jutsu,"

POOF

A cloud of smoke burst into existence, and an exact replica of Shujinko appeared sitting next to him. By this time, Aang, Sokka, and Katara had somewhat gotten used to watching Shujinko perform the impossible, but the same thing couldn't be said about Toph, who immediately turned around in shock. Despite not being able to feel the vibrations nearly as accurate as she did with her feet on the ground, the blind earthbender still managed to sense the presence of Shujinko's clone just… appearing out of nowhere. As someone who wasn't used to getting caught off guard, Toph had to bite down her tongue and look the other way, not wanting the others to see her utterly befuddled face.

"My clone here can ride Appa for as long as possible. That way, we can all rest in the meanwhile, including me," Shujinko said with confidence. "Aang, you'll have to stay awake for a while and teach my clone the basics on how to fly an Air Bison. Then you can sleep with the rest of us,"

"Yeah, and don't worry about me. I'm a quick learner just like the original Shujinko," Clone Shujinko said with utmost confidence.

…

"… Did that clone thing… talked just now?" Toph asked, unable to hide her amazement any longer.

"If you don't mind, it's 'shadow clone', not clone thing," Clone Shujinko corrected her as he crawled towards Appa's head. "And yes, I did talk just now. Even if I'm a clone, I can do almost anything the original Shujinko can do. Alright Aang, how do I hold these rains?" he asked as he extended his hand, but the airbender moved them out of the clone's reach.

"Wait a minute, Appa hasn't agreed to this," Aang protested with an annoyed frown on his face. "Why should he stay up all night while we sleep? It's not fair, and it could be dangerous for all of us,"

"Aang, could you please just…" Katara began to say, but then she realized the tone she was using was slightly more confrontational than usual. The fatigue was getting to her. Katara took a deep breath and made sure to sound as calm and gentle as she could. "Look, I understand that you worry about Appa just like every one of us does. You don't want to place him in danger, but if we're being honest here, we already are in danger. Shujinko's plan is risky, but I don't see what other choices we have,"

"Yeah, and if Appa becomes too tired to go on, Shujinko's shadow clone will let us know and we'll stop immediately," Sokka seconded. "Come on, Aang. We need to sleep, you need to sleep, and everyone needs to sleep. You can do it now while you still can, or you can do it later in a prison cell inside a ship on its way to the Fire Nation. What do you say?"

The Avatar pressed his lips together, feeling tired and frustrated. Since when had Sokka and Katara started to take Shujinko's side? Couldn't they see how selfish it was to let Appa continue to fly while they dozed off? He wanted to say no, but his eyes were getting heavier and he couldn't find an argument to counter Shujinko's proposition. As much as he didn't like it, it was the only plan they had and the only thing that might work, even if it meant allowing Appa to get more fatigued.

"Appa, do you think you can make it through the night?" Aang asked as he scratched Appa's fur affectionately. The Flying Bison let out a loud grunt, which he took as an affirmative answer. "Okay buddy, but don't be afraid to warn us as soon as you're feeling exhausted. We're counting on you,"

And so, Aang began to teach Shujinko's shadow clone how to hold the reins and how to guide Appa around. Meanwhile, the rest of Team Avatar got into a comfortable position and closed their eyes, feeling thankful for the rest they were about to enjoy.

Unbeknownst to the group, the princess of the Fire Nation wasn't the only threat chasing after them. Azula and her friends were still following the tracks left by Appa's fur, using their huge tank to cover the distance. Likewise, Zuko was after them as well, riding a stolen Ostrich Horse and keeping an eye on the notorious wheel marks that Azula's tank left on the ground. The two children of Ozai would meet once again as enemies sharing a common goal, the capture of the Avatar.

But Aang wasn't the only member of Team Avatar who was being targeted.

Many miles away, the sound of wings flapping echoed through the dark and quiet night. A giant hawk was soaring in the sky carrying a man on its back, pushing the clouds out of the way with sheer momentum alone. Every now and then, the man would look down at his hand, watching the Eye of Kazemaru glow brighter the closest it got to its counterpart. It made him smile beneath his bandana mask, which only left his beady eyes visible. He smiled, because the same way his Eye of Kazemaru would find its counterpart, he would find his own counterpart as well, the vile foe standing in his path.

'Soon, young Ozuma. Very soon, I will see what you're made of, and you will prove to me how accurately the prophecy described you,'

* * *

Aaaaaand that was chapter 10. Hope you all liked it.

God, this chapter was a pain to write. Except for the showdown at the end, I don't even like this episode of A:TLA. The first half feels incredibly repetitive, and looking back at it, it has several major writing conveniences that make me lift an eyebrow.

In any case, at least we got the boring stuff out of the way. I hope you liked this chapter for what it's worth. I personally enjoyed writing the debate between Shujinko and the rest of Team Avatar about bending. It makes sense to me that Shujinko sees bending as a tool devoid of good and evil, for that is precisely what Ninjutsu is to him. You could say Zaheer proves me right, for he became an airbender and he wasn't exactly a peaceful dude in the show. His Airbending didn't make him a morally good person, just like Iroh wasn't a morally bad person because of his Firebending. Shujinko, being a ninja from another part of the world, has a far more practical and "stoical" view on bending as he lacks the bias people such as Aang, Sokka, and Katara have when it comes to Firebending.

If you found this chapter to be boring, I don't blame you, as I find it boring as well if I'm being honest. Whoever, The Chase is simply too important an episode to skip, and now that we got the boring stuff out of the way, I can finally begin to write the scenes we all want to read. The next chapter will be a lot different than this one, and _boi _will there be action. Thank you for your patience and be on the lookout for the next update.

Don't forget to Review, Favorite & Follow

Peace!


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